Love Bites
by sliverpen
Summary: Holly Monforte had been an average 16-almost-17 year old teenager living with her mom. Her world got turned upside down when one day she was suddenly told that she was to move in with her dad and learned that she was actually not completely human… As if this wasn't enough to deal with, she just had to fall head-over-heels for a mysterious guy at her new school - Jayden...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – New life, new school

_'Great!' _I thought, fuming as I was heading to my first class in McGuire High, my new school. '_I have a body guard…that sucks!_' I had to go live with my dad because my mom had decided she doesn't want me anymore. Well, she said that she still loved me very much, but that she needed some time on her own to sort herself out. I bet it's just so she could have more time with that jerk Paul, whom she had invited over for lunch several times the last four months... He was her accountant or lawyer or something. I had opposed the whole thing of course. I didn't want things to change. Perhaps it's my fault that I've been sent to live with my dad, whom I've never met. I hated her for doing that to me. How could she? We didn't have much, but I never complained. I did reasonably well in school, even had a friend, Jessica, whom I was sad to leave behind. We promised stay in touch with e-mails and viber. I didn't do drugs or anything. A perfect teenager! What more did she want?!

I was picked up at the airport the day before by a man called Sam. I had to wait for two hours and it was already dark when he finally came. He said that my father could unfortunately not meet me. Apparently he had a lot to do.

"_Yeah, whatever. I'm not welcome here either…" I thought._

I was surprised when we arrived at the place that would be my home for a while, well, until I get sent to some faraway boarding school in the hopes that I'd mysteriously disappear or something. The gardens outside was well taken care of. The lawns were neatly cut and green. The house was a mansion that was built with some kind of dark stone.

All my things, which fitted into a suitcase, were taken to my room. I was given something to eat in a dining room almost as big as mom's whole apartment. My room was three times the size of the one I had. Apart from its size it was nothing extravagant. It had a double bed, mirror table, desk, bookcase, built-in closet. All well-made wooden furniture and stone floors. The walls were painted beige. Thank goodness for that! I secretly had this fear that my _dad_ might think it would be fitting to have it painted bright pink. I would have died right on the spot. I had my own little bathroom too…cool. There was one window, which had a stunning view over a part of the garden. There was a swimming pool. (There was an indoor one too, which I only later discovered). There was a tennis court and a rose garden that contained 465 rose bushes. This I later learned from the gardener, Henry.

"_Wow, this place is actually nice", _I thought, _"I wonder how long it will be before I get posted again?"_

I had hoped I would meet my 'dad' before I had to go through the torture of being a newbie at McGuire high and everything, but Sam told me he _unfortunately_ couldn't see me. I was getting annoyed. This is where things started to get _really _weird. I was driven to school, at 7:45 pm. I had been ready and waiting the whole freaking day! Sam wasn't the talkative type, so I didn't get any straight answers from him. Perhaps it's like evening classes or something?

The school grounds were teaming with life. The school itself looked like something out of Harry Potter. I almost expected wizards to come flying pass me on broomsticks… It had lots of towers and huge oak trees lined the drive-way to the school. Some students rushed through the gates to get to class when the bell rang at 8:00 pm. I was still gaping at what I was seeing and questioning my own sanity when I realized I wasn't going to just be dropped off at the gate like a lot of the other kids. Instead Sam parked and got out with me.

"_O, gosh! Don't tell me he's going to walk me to class like some over-anxious parent?" I thought._

"I can take it from here," I said casually, grabbing my bag from the back-seat. Sam just smiled slightly, ignoring my 'hint'. He was following me as I walked to the building where I hoped to find the reception, so I could get my schedule. Two huge flags hung outside with the school's emblem and something written in Latin.

"Why are you following me?" I asked Sam before entering the building.

"It is your father's wish that I accompany you when you leave the house, Miss Monforte."

I stared at him.

"What, seriously? No! Everyone will think I'm some kind of snobbish freak!" I almost yelled hysterically.

Sam sighed.

"I know this is not what you would like, but please don't make this more difficult for the both of us as it is. I will keep a discreet distance of course."

"Thanks," I muttered under my breath and faced the receptionist. She was scary in some way. I had somehow pictured her to be an old-ish lady with a bun and glasses. This lady was quite young…she had blonde hair and green eyes. Her eyes…they were almost unnatural. She had a very smooth, almost too calm voice as she asked me what she could do for me. She eyed Sam over my shoulder as I asked for my schedule. She handed it to me and I shuddered under her gaze. She looked at me like I was something good enough to eat…perhaps she's a lesbian? I had to keep myself from grinning…

_First class Math. Great… _

Math was not one of my strongest subjects. I hoped that the teacher would take it easy on me. I didn't want more attention on me than being the new snobbish freak…with a bodyguard.

"I thought you said you were going to keep your distance!" I whispered to Sam as he walked into class with me as if he was just another student. Not that he looked like a student. He had the whole secret-agent thing going. He was wearing a black suit and his short black hair was gelled flat. He even had the thing that goes into the ear, not that I ever heard or saw him listening or talking into it.

"I am not to let you out of my sight, Miss Monforte," he replied matter-of-factly and then made himself comfortable in a chair in the back corner of the class. The teacher, Mrs Pausini, didn't appear surprised. She simply waved me to a seat in the second row, then started explaining something about algebra. I looked around, to see what book they were in and on what page.

"The blue cover, page 153," a girl whispered to me. She was sitting behind me.

"Thanks," I whispered back.

Math class wasn't too bad. The teacher had asked me a question once, but luckily I knew the answer. The girl who helped me was Lily Burns, a lovely girl. A bit pale, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. A little on the chubby side. Beautiful smile. Dressed a bit strangely, would be classified as a geek in my old school. I felt we would be good friends from the start. She was so down to earth. She offered to help me with math when I complained about it being so difficult and I said that I would appreciate it.

As we were walking to our next class, Lily leaned closer to me.

"Is that guy going to follow you everywhere?"

"Yup…my father's orders…apparently."

"He must really care about you."

I snorted, "I doubt it. He wasn't there to pick me up at the airport. As a matter of fact, I haven't even seen him before coming to school this m…evening."

"I've heard that he is an important man…" Lily said emphatically.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, Sam is always telling me that he is busy…_unfortunately_," I imitated his voice. Lily laughed.

"I can see why he sent you with a bodyguard. You look like someone who's going to get into trouble soon enough…that's great!"

I stared at her in surprise.

"I'm not usually the one who starts it!" I objected. It wasn't _my_ fault that the one girl in my old school fell over my suitcase. She wasn't looking where she was walking. Well, I did shove it a little in front of her…kind-of. It was her fault really. She had it coming, always picking on my friend Jessica in front of others… I'm just glad I didn't have to go back there, though. She would have made my life a living hell. I just hope Jess is okay without me.

"Yeah, whatever," Lily said. We got to the next class.

The rest of the night didn't go too bad, apart from the fact that I fell asleep in English class. It was around two in the morning, for crying out loud! Lily had accidentally 'bumped' into my desk to wake me up. Some of the other students were snickering. Luckily the teacher didn't notice, or pretended not to. How they could stay awake and study at these hours I could only marvel. None of the teachers asked why I had a man following me around. I found that Lily and I had a lot of classes together. In Biology I was assigned to Jayden Cortez as lab partner. Like Lily, he was a bit on the pale side, had shoulder length, unusual snow white hair and intense blue eyes.

_They even allow long hair and heavy highlighting in this school? Cool!_

I stifled another yawn. He wasn't very friendly though.

"Please don't mess up. I don't need another helpless dud as a lab partner," he hissed at me, when I took the seat next to him. He irritated me immensely.

"Luckily for you I actually _like_ Biology," I said, glaring at him.

He lifted an eyebrow, then ignored me for the rest of the class. I could see I wasn't going to get a lot of help from my lab-partner.

"_Great_," I whispered to myself.

I'm already starting my new enemy collection. I couldn't but help noticing how Luna Swan was glaring at me all through Biology class. I wonder if she had been his previous lab partner? I later asked Lily about her.

"Oh, she wished she was! Bruce Holler was his previous partner. He had dropped out a week before finals last year. Jayden was pretty much upset. He had to do biology practical examinations by himself. It wasn't easy. He then worked alone, as there was no one else needing a partner…until you came along. I bet Luna is soooo jealous. She has had a crush on Jayden since he came here last year!"

"Last year? So he's also new? Well, kind-of. Seems like he's been here for years."

Lily shook her head and laughed. "You really are an outsider!"

"A what?"

"We heard that Monforte's daughter would join our school and that you are an outsider, meaning you don't know our ways."

"Your ways?" Okay, now I was really getting freaked out…

"I'll have to update you before you get stamped as a complete dimwit…where to start…"

"Hey! That's not very nice!" I protested, but I knew she didn't mean it in a mean way.

I thought being an outcast at my old school was bad. Compared to this it was a walk through Disneyland. My head was spinning, and I was soooo tired. Why did mom sent me here? Is this hell? Some institute for the mental disabled?

_Please, mom, take me back! I'll never call Paul names again, not even behind your back! Or throw darts at the photo of him I had nailed behind my closet door…_

"This school doesn't grade you like the regulars. It has nothing to do with your age – that would be pointless. Some had been coming here for quite a while. You progress at your own pace. Some students come here for years to perfect their methods or to learn greater discipline. You can leave whenever you feel like it."

"Really?" I asked with a small spark of hope. Perhaps I can convince _dad_ that I'm not a complete nutcase and want to leave. Where would I go then? I realized I hadn't been listening to Lily.

"…and, seriously, you have to do something about your clothes. You look like something from a Barbie movie." I had dressed in what I thought would be 'clean' and 'acceptable' for a high class school. I presumed so, because of the mansions around here… Usually I dressed mostly in dark colours, grey being my favourite and I loved my combat boots. I wasn't really the gothic type, but most of the kids at old school didn't know the difference between dressing like a vamp wannabe or real class anyway. I got teased a lot. Suzie, the girl I had tripped once, called me bloodsucker. Not that there are vampires. Everyone knows they don't exist. I had wished then I was one so that I could scare her silly.

Now I was wearing a simple light grey pencil skirt and white blouse. Mom had insisted I take it with. I never wore it before. She had bought it for me when I turned 16, trying to lure me into the ways of being a lady. I chucked it in the back of my closet. That was where it stayed until I packed to come here. I was surprised that the moths didn't chew it up or mice made their home in it. Shows, even _they_ have better taste.

"Yeah…" I sighed," you're right. I didn't know you guys actually dress normal around here. I figured with all the luxurious properties around here…when in Rome do as the Romans do. Thanks for the tips, by the way."

"No problem. I like you, Holly. I'll try my best to help you fit in at no time."

My mind wandered back to what Lily was saying about Luna having a crush on Jayden.

"So that brings my enemy count to two."

"What?"

"Jayden and Luna. They both seem to hate my guts. He ignored me through the whole Biology class and she was trying to beam me out the window with her glare."

Lily giggled. "You are so funny!" Just then Jayden and two others boys walked pass. He just glanced in our direction for a moment, then looked away. Lily, seeing him, burst out laughing loudly now. I stared at the lockers on the opposite wall, trying hard to keep a straight face.

"This is going to be the most fun year ever!"

_Dad_ was busy, as usual, so I didn't see him when I got home that morning, just after 2 am. It was kind-of suiting me. Perhaps he'd be so busy, that he'd forget about me and not think about sending me away. I really liked Lily. I thought she and I could actually be real friends, like Jessica and I. I just couldn't figure out the weird school hours, though. I was too tired to think much about it. I went to bed and fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Meeting Dad

When I woke late in the afternoon the next day, Sam told me that my father would see me the next morning, when I got back from school. Sam still refused to answer any of my questions, especially about why I had to attend night school. I felt excited, but at the same time afraid. What if my father didn't like me? Would he tell me that I'm only going to be here a few months and then posted to some boarding school? In Alaska?

Tonight wasn't going so well at school. At least I looked good in my black stockings, combat boots, dark grey mini skirt, and t-shirt, saying 'don't ask'. We had a math pop-quiz. My shirt didn't do the trick for me. The teacher asked me twice, and I had it wrong both times. I felt miserable. Luna was snickering every time I got it wrong and some of the other students whispered to each other. I was just blushing furiously, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me. Once I looked up, right into Jayden's face. At least he wasn't laughing. I blushed more, and stared at my hands that were shaking terribly. I gripped the desk in an effort to still them. Stupid hands!

"Ignore them," Lily whispered, "she flunked Biology last semester."

I knew she wanted to help, but somehow the fact that Luna Swan actually flunked something wasn't of much comfort. I just wanted to fit in, be invisible, but somehow I knew that Luna was going to make sure that I was always the pink elephant in a yellow tutu.

Biology class wasn't much better. Jayden kept ignoring me. We had to examine a piece of garlic through a microscope and record what we could make of the cells. I saw some sweat on Jayden's forehead. It was actually quite funny to me. Why? It wasn't as if it was going to bite him or anything? Perhaps he really doesn't like garlic? I'll admit, it didn't smell exactly appetizing. I noticed some of the other students, like Jayden, had gloves on and handled it like it was something detestable. Jayden looked, then scribbled things down on his notepad, not saying anything to me. I looked too, then wrote down what I observed on my own notepad. I was getting terribly annoyed with myself. My hand was shaking slightly as I held my pen. I had to put in real effort to write. _What was wrong with me?_

"You write funny," a boy at my other side noted, "you had an accident or something…with your hand, I mean?"

"No, I prefer holding the pen like this," I said bluntly, trying to ignore several interested gazes. I knew I held a pen differently than other people, but it was _my_ way. Besides, why does it matter how you hold a pen anyway?

Luna, who with my luck was sitting behind me, had to rub it in, saying something about me being _special_. I snapped. I grabbed her pink cell phone that was lying on the table, threw it on the ground and smashed it with the heel of my combat boot. She shrieked, called me all kinds of hideous names, but I didn't care. I just glared at her. Suddenly, it felt like I was going to be sick. Was I imagining things? Her eyes…they definitely became dark… What is it with this place? Is it a school for weirdos? The teacher's voice only now broke through. I was ordered out of the class, to the principal's office. I looked at Jayden for a moment, bewildered and confused. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. His face was perfectly blank.

I was suspended for the rest of the night. Sam didn't say anything as we drove home and I went straight up to my room, plunged myself on my bed and fell asleep. I woke several hours later when someone knocked on my door. A maid informed me that my father wanted to see me in his study. I checked on my watch and saw that it was 4 am. I was surprised that my father would still have the energy for a meeting at this hour, considering he'd been out working until late…_._ I felt my stomach knot. He's definitely going to post me.

The study wasn't as big as I had imagined. It was furnished with expensive-looking furniture. I could smell the wood and leather. There was a huge window behind the desk and on the sides shelves full of expensive looking books. A man stood up from the chair. I looked at him, confused at first. He was young, probably in his late twenties. He had dark-brown curly hair, and butterscotch eyes. I had the same hair, but I doubt this could be my father. He's too young. Wow he's quite attractive… I realized I was staring at him and quickly looked away.

"Sorry, I was told to meet my father here," I explained my intrusion, blushing like an idiot. He smiled oddly.

"Take a seat, Holly," he said, clearly not on his way out. How did he know my name? Could it be? I stared at him with wide eyes. Nah, impossible…

"I am Benedict Monforte…your father," he announced, reaching out his hand to me. I took it, my head spinning. His hand was ice cold.

"But you're so young!" I blurted out before I could help myself. He smiled again.

"I understand your confusion, Holly, and I will try to explain everything to you as best as I can…"

I couldn't sleep that day and spent my time sulking in my room. Why didn't mom ever tell me about anything? That evening I ate some dinner and had a very strong cup of coffee. It would have to help me get through until break-time at around 11:30. The kitchen had a fancy coffee machine, one of those that use capsules and makes lots of froth.

Just a few hours before I had learnt that my dad was in fact, a vampire, meaning that I am a half-blood. He had once belonged to the _Covenant, _an organization formed to control vampires. A selected few was trained to act on behalf of the Covenant as assassins. Who exactly they had to assassinate I'm not sure, probably unruly vampires…my dad didn't want to elaborate on the subject. Apparently he had retired. He was now more involved in the encouragement of peaceful werewolf/vampire relations and acted as spokesman at important meetings. The school I was going to was for vampires, werewolves and half-bloods only. Well, apparently not officially for half-bloods. My dad requested that I not openly speak of it. I wondered why?

Well, at least that would explain the weird hours and the garlic. I had asked about why vampires and werewolves were going to school together since they were normally enemies. He had said that relations between the groups had improved much over the last century and that they were trying to get along now. Occasionally there was a slip-up, but it was quickly dealt with. When I had asked why mom had never told me any of this, he simply stated that it was irrelevant at the time. _Irrelevant!_ As if it's not important to know your dad's a vampire! I had doubted at first, but he then asked me if I hadn't noticed anything at school. I replied that I did, and had thought I was going insane. He had asked about my first two nights at school. The conversation replayed in my head. I had told him about Lily.

"Lily Burns? A good family."

"Vampire right?"

He nodded, pleased.

"I kind-of figured that must be why she's so pale."

"Is anyone giving you a hard time?" he asked. _He_ _knows! _My mind was screaming.

"Er…there is this girl in my class…she's been provoking me at every turn…and my biology lab partner acts like I have the plague or something."

"Oh, and who is he?" How did he know it's a "he"?

"Jayden Cortez."

"You should be…careful with him."

"No need to worry. I'm not planning to vie for his attention like that slut…" My eyes widened and I pressed my hand to my mouth. I can't believe what I was saying in front of my father!

"Sorry!"

He looked amused.

"This girl…I presume she's the one provoking you?" he asked.

"Yes…Lily told me she's had a crush on Jayden since forever."

"Indeed? I'm truly glad I sent Sam with you…" he said as if thinking of something else, "you should be careful who you choose to rub shoulders with, Holly. Werewolves tend to be very territorial. If she thinks you have something that's she feels is hers it can complicate things considerably."

"But I don't have anything that's hers!" I objected. Then it struck me. Luna's a werewolf! I felt more and more like getting sick.

"No, but you are Cortez's lab partner."

"Oh, great. Why don't I just ask the teacher to swap places with her. They both don't like me anyway."

"That would not be the right thing to do. You'd be showing you are the weaker one, that you are running away from resistance." I stared at him.

"I just want to be invisible," I finally said with a sigh. He was suddenly next to me and I almost jumped out of my chair. He put his hand reassuringly on my shoulder.

"Holly, you turn 17 in a couple of month's time, do you not?"

"Yes, why?"

"That is why your mother and I agreed that you come here. From this age forward you will experience…the _other_ side of your heritage more and more. You need to learn to control it."

_She knew and never told me! I can't believe it!_

"Don't be angry with your mother, Holly," he said as if reading my mind. Perhaps it showed on my face.

"We both thought it best to keep it from you as long as possible, to allow you to grow up normally, without having the burden of worrying about this…"

For a while we were both just silent.

"You will eventually find that you have _all _the abilities a vampire have in lesser degree, with another exception…you are not immortal."

I swallowed.

"And it will only manifest itself when I turn 17?"

"You might have experienced some things already, but it will accelerate greatly when you turn 17. How long it takes for a half-blood to reach maturity is different to every individual. You coming to live here gives you time to observe others and learn from them," he said looking somewhat tired.

_That's a new one. A tired vampire!_

I got up.

"Rest well…Holly," he said softly.

"Does Sam have to follow me around every day?" I asked as I was on my way out.

"Yes."

There was no doubt in his voice. It wouldn't help to argue _that _one.

I looked at him hesitantly. He is my father after all.

"Dad?" This was the first time I called him that. He seemed a little surprised. It was new to me too.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said smiling, revealing his white teeth and fangs slightly.

I hadn't slept at all during the day, making me quite groggy that evening at school. And I was still getting used to the whole being awake all night and sleep at day thing. Sam was his usual cheerful self, meaning he still didn't say much. I observed him more closely when I thought he wouldn't notice. He was vampire, all-right. Now I was sure of it. Same pale skin. No wonder I had to wait so long at the airport… They all seemed to have unnatural eyes and need to wear contacts to make them appear human to other humans. The vamps and wolves. The vamps were pale though. The wolves had more colour, like the receptionist woman. Quickly I could tell who is who.

Luna glared at me in all the classes we shared, but at least she left me alone now. I had been tasked to clean the class out every morning after school for a whole month as punishment. I guess it could have been worse. Lily was all excited about me standing up against her and smashing her cell phone. It certainly made me the topic of discussion… I wasn't particularly proud of it. My dad hadn't said anything about it, but I had the feeling that he_ knew. _I wouldn't be surprised if Sam told him about everything I did.

I was so immersed in what I was writing in English class, that the bell startled me and I did jump out of my seat. Lily was with me in a second, laughing and teasing me. She had agreed to help me with math tonight. My dad said it was fine for her to come over. He wasn't home much anyway. There was always some meeting or other he had to attend. Perhaps that was why mom and dad broke up? I've not had the courage to ask him about it and mom never said much either. When I spoke with mom on the phone she didn't ask about my father at all, she kept the conversation around me and then Paul. She really seemed to like this guy a lot… I wish they could fight and break up already, not that I'd be able to go back now…

I enjoyed the time with Lily very much. Her intelligence was highly underrated by the school's teachers and students in my opinion. She explained the math problems to me in such a way that it made perfect sense. Why couldn't the teachers do that?

Eventually we just chilled in my room and listened to some good old Alanis Morrisette. She asked me a lot of questions about my mom and where I had lived before.

"I'm surprised that you and your mom could live there. Apart from having too many sunny days, it would be a risk being between all those humans."

"Not really. You see…my mom is not a vampire," I confided. She was very surprised.

"You're a half-blood?!"

"Yes, but please keep this secret. My dad will have me posted to Alaska it this comes out!"

"No worries! Wow. You fooled me."

"What do you mean? It's not like I can do anything special, not until I turn 17 anyway."

Lily was shaking her head.

"I am usually very good in judging people…I mean werewolves and vamps. I just thought you are a slow learner or perhaps just being reluctant to use your abilities…"

"Thanks…" I replied sulkily.

"Hey, I didn't mean that in an offending way! I knew there are some half-bloods in the school, but no-one really talks about it. I do have my suspicions as to who they are...it makes sense actually, you not being able to run as fast or not being as strong, but oddly your aura is like a full-blood vampire's…"

I could see she was now wrapped up in her own thoughts.

"…wow, I wonder how you will change…will it be very visible? Will you have to take blood?"

"I sure hope not!" I said quickly. I thought of my mom loving lying in the sun and eating garlic on her pizza.

_Oh gosh, does that mean I'll squirm from garlic when I turn 17 and fry in the sunlight?!_

"I don't really know what to make of this," Lily replied broodingly, "but there has to be answers and I'm going to find out!"

"Whoa there, I'm not going to be one of your experiments Lily! I've already enough to cope with."

Lily was very much into science and experimenting on things. She was the top student in her class. I thankfully didn't have science as a subject. Math was bad enough.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to make you do anything. I'll just be observing you closely. Perhaps I can pick up something or learn a few things."

"Great. So you _and_ Sam will be observing me. I feel like a celebrity."

"We are not the only ones observing you, you know," she said, but her cell rang before I could ask her what she meant. It was her mom, saying that she had to be home in ten minutes or else.

"Your mom sounds like the strict kind?"

"Yeah, kind-of…I think she's found my experiment in my room. I had hid it in the cupboard. Damn."

I smiled. That was so like Lily.

"Well, see you tomorrow," she said before disappearing out of my window. I looked out. She was simply gone. No bat or some weird animal. "Cool," was all I could say.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – PE

Lily was a little upset the next day. Her mom grounded her for a week. For Lily it felt like a life-sentence. She was complaining about it all through Geography and English. I was a bit nervous because today would be my first physical training class. I wasn't sure what to expect. When the time came, I changed into the shorts and t-shirt that the school provided. We were made to sit while the teacher, Mr Boomer, explained what they were going to have us do. This was an assessment class. We would have to do all kinds of things to test our physical abilities. The problem areas would then be noted and you would have to improve on them. "_Great!"_ I thought as I eyed the apparatus. Weights and machinery were waiting.

I failed most of the tests. I couldn't run fast enough, according to werewolf and vampire standards, I didn't have super strength. I couldn't break anything apart with my hands…the list goes on. It was noted on the document that I'm a half-blood but the teacher scolded me for being 'lazy'. To my surprise and annoyance I found that there were no other half-bloods in our class, making me the only weakling. Luna enjoyed seeing me fail thoroughly. I was lying on my back on one of the machines. I had to lift a heavy weight of the hook, lower it towards my chest and then put it back. I lifted it with much concentration, lowered it.

_Now to get it off me…_

I tried lifting it. I did so about a quarter of the way, then I got stuck. I couldn't get it higher and I couldn't lower it, for fear of dropping it too fast, crushing my chest. It _was_ very heavy. I panicked. Lily was nowhere to be seen. _What must I do?_ I was starting to tire out. Sweat formed on my forehead as I tried again to lift it further, but it didn't move at all. Suddenly it went up and back onto the hook like a feather. I blinked in surprise. Only now I saw Lily on the other side. She had helped me lift it quickly when no-one would notice. She smiled slyly, standing by as if just watching me when the teacher came by. I got ticked as "adequate". I mouthed thanks to her when the teacher turned his back. She winked.

"Wow, you actually passed _something_," Luna was now saying sarcastically. Thankfully she hadn't seen Lily help me either.

"Yeah, and I passed the not-being-a-bitch test too," I replied before I could stop myself. She was instantly furious. Her eyes turned dark and she was shaking.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that," I tried to apologize, but she growled and then jumped at me. I don't know who was more surprised, but I was suddenly ten feet away from her. Sam was standing protectively in front of me, slightly crouched. She had transformed into a huge wolf. I stared with my mouth open. She was still growling, her lips pulled back. It was very frightening to see. The gym teacher was now shouting at her. She calmed down and transformed back. Her hair and clothes were a bit disheveled. She smoothed herself down, not letting her eyes go off me as she did so. Sam had pulled me up, but still kept careful watch on her.

"This is not the last," she hissed at me before walking off to the principal's office. I stuck my tongue out after her.

"You shouldn't provoke others!" Sam scolded me.

"Hey, I didn't start this! I tried to apologize, but she just flew at me."

Many eyes followed me as I left the room when the bell rang.

I headed to class, with all the needed 'tools', including a broom, bucket, mop and most importantly my mp3 player. My punishment meant I would only get home around 3 am in the mornings, but at least I loved listening to music. It was easier to keep awake while I was moving. I sung along as I entered the dark classroom. A huge lava lamp on one of the shelves provided enough light to see. I put everything down, took the swab and started cleaning the black board. I was singing along with one of Alanis Morisette's songs, when suddenly I realised I wasn't alone in the classroom. Sam was somewhere in the corridor. At least if I screamed he would be here in a second. I still had the mop in my hand, which also served as a 'microphone'. I picked it up, swinging it like they always swing those sticks in the Karate movies, ready to wreck destiny on whatever evil lurked at me. I saw that it was Jayden and his two buddies. They were sitting at a desk at the far back corner of class, looking at something, but now staring at me. There were books spread out. I could feel my face turn several different colours like a chameleon.

"Oh, hi…er…sorry I didn't know you're studying…" I apologised, taking out the earphones. They all were smiling. Probably had a good laugh.

"No, we were actually done," Jayden said getting up.

"Your voice is not bad," one of his buddies said.

"Yeah, you should try for the school play," the other added. Was he being sarcastic? I couldn't tell.

"Yeah, and break all the windows in the process…no thanks," I replied to hide my embarrassment;"…I don't perform so well in front of an audience."

"You did fine just now," buddy one said.

"Yeah, maybe I should charge you for the show…" I replied and we laughed.

"I'm Brian," buddy one finally said, "and this is Leto. Jayden you should know by now, considering he's your lab parther in Bio."

I looked fleetingly at Jayden. My face was still hot from embarrassment.

"So they put you on cleaning duties?" Jayden asked.

"I've had worse…I really don't know what had gotten into me…but to be honest, I don't regret it, but Luna has been scorching my back ever since."

"Just make sure your cells are out of sight, bro's," Brian jokingly said to the others.

"Don't worry, as long as it's not pink, it's safe," I joked back.

"Well, it's good to meet you. We'll leave you to your cleaning," Leto was saying as he picked up some of the books and returned it to a nearby shelf.

"Aww, I thought you'd all be gentlemanly and offer to help."

"Next time I'll give you all the help you need girl," Leto said with an almost Jamaican accent. It struck me that he could very well be from there. He had the beads and everything. I realized suddenly that he might have meant something more than what I had in mind...

"What?!"

"Come you two!" Jayden suddenly interrupted with an irritated tone and pushed Leto out of the classroom. What was up with him?

Luckily my dad didn't confront me about my behavior today. He was at a meeting. No surprise there. I wish he _was_ rebuking me. I felt lousy and alone. It's not nice always coming home alone. Well, of course Sam and some of the other house staff was always there, but it was not the same. I wish I could get to know my dad better.

That night I had a nightmare, of Luna attacking me while I was alone. I was feeling very thankful that Sam was following me around at school. I wondered what would become of me, I was supposed to start changing soon, but I didn't feel any different. I was slowly adapting to night school and find some of my classes interesting. But where was all this heading? All the uncertainty made me feel depressed.

"Hello, danger magnet!" Lily greeted me cheerfully the next morning.

"I didn't mean for that to happen," I replied annoyed.

"Of course not. You can't help that trouble are attracted to you, can you?"

I gave up. First class would be Biology.

Today we would be a very important day, the teacher informed us. It would help determine our level of maturity. I didn't understand what this was all about. Was this one of those birds-and-the-bees classes? The teacher gave each one a syringe. Perhaps not…

"Each one will be drawing some of his or her partner's blood today," Mr Spruce explained, "this will proof how far you have developed self-control. In emergency situations it is very useful to be able to control oneself at the sight of blood. Those of you who feel they are still too vulnerable to attempt this test, feel free to leave the classroom and join Mr Boomer's PE class for a run around the field."

Then he demonstrated in front of the class how to draw blood with the syringe. I felt the blood leave my face. That was an awful lot of blood. _I think I'm going to be sick._ I sat down, pressing my face to the cool table, trying to control my breathing. I could _smell_ the blood.

"Are you alright?" Jayden asked softly.

"No," I replied, keeping my eyes closed. I heard someone yelp as the syringe pricked her. That was the final straw. I fainted.

I found myself in the nursing room. It was a very uncomfortable bunk, but I still felt very nauseous. I hated the smell of medicines almost as much as the smell of blood.

"Hi," someone said not far from me. It was Jayden, lodging against the wall, looking very amused. Sam was standing not far off.

"Hi," I replied, rubbing my head. It was pounding.

"You hit it quite badly on the way down," Jayden said. I sat up. Everything spun.

"Why are _you_ here?" I asked, annoyed.

"Well, you _are _my lab partner. I am not allowed to draw my own blood, so I came here with you to see if you'll live," he said with a relieved sigh.

"Sorry for letting you down like that. I'm not very good with blood."

_Gosh, he must think I'm such a loser._

"But you like Biology?" he asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"Yes, but I've mostly had theory at my old school. Practical was limited to watching vids or going to the zoo for crying out loud."

He smiled and nodded understandingly.

I was surprised that he smiled. He was usually so serious. Was he perhaps genuinely worried about me? The thought made me feel warm in my stomach. Perhaps I was just over-thinking things…

"Guess I'll have to face it sooner or later, right?" I swung my legs over and hopped off the bunk, but still had no balance. He caught me.

"Sorry, this is sooooo embarrasing," I muttered. He chuckled, holding me up.

_It felt nice, being in his arms like that!_

I tried again, this time succeeding in putting one foot in front of the other. The nurse gave me a cup of sugar-water to drink before we made our way back to class. Unfortunately I hadn't been out more than 15 minutes which meant we had to go back to Biology class. As we entered the bell rang as if an answer to my prayer. The others left for Art class. Mr Spruce kept Jayden and I back.

"Are you ready to try again, Miss Monforte?" he asked me. I wanted to protest, but Jayden said that he would help me. I reluctantly agreed. Clearly we would not be allowed to leave before finishing this exercise. At least now we wouldn't have an audience.

Mr Spruce sat down at his desk, working on some papers. It appeared like he was not having another class right now.

"Here," Jayde said, putting a syringe in my hand. He explained what Mr Spruce had said before I fainted.

"Are you ready? I'll go first if you want."

I nodded. He lowered his syringe to my palm. I looked away, closing my eyes. _Just breathe!_ I felt a slight prick as it entered my skin. His other hand was supporting my arm. I could feel my body slightly shaking. He drew some blood. It didn't hurt as much as I expected.

"Done."

I looked at him smiling at me, and then the syringe, with bright red blood. My blood. I was already feeling worse. Mr Spruce took the syringe from Jayden, putting it in a holder with all the others. I licked my dry lips, taking a deep breath. It was now my turn. He gave me his palm. I was shaking terribly.

"I don't want to hurt you," I said in a squeaky voice, hesitating to press the needle into his skin while I was shaking uncontrollably.

"It's okay, Holly. It won't hurt me."

I looked in his eyes. They were so intense, so beautiful…for a moment I forgot what I was doing. I was feeling a bit feverish now. I had to press quite hard. His skin was tough. I wonder if all vampires had such tough skin? I swallowed. Now, to draw blood. It came slowly. A duller red in colour than mine had been. I was very relieved when it was over and I could hand the syringe to Mr Spruce. I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding.

"Good, off you go you two," was all he said, peering at us over the rim of his glasses. I was still shaking as we walked out of the class.

"What class do you have now?" Jayden asked.

"Art, you?"

"History." I was a bit disappointed. "See you around."

I walked to Art class down the empty hallway with only Sam's footfalls lightly behind me. I had _smelled_ the blood intensely, I thought. Did that mean that my abilities might already have started to manifest? I didn't feel like sucking it or anything. It just bothered me, which is odd considering I'm supposed to be half vampire.

In art we were told to draw a picture of anyone we knew. I couldn't decide who. I just started drawing. The events of the day was still playing over and over in my mind.

"Wow, that looks just like him," Lily suddenly said behind me.

I looked down and was surprised to see I've drawn Jayden's face in fine detail, especially his eyes. I can't hand this in! I wanted to hide it and start with something else, but Mrs Sunny heard Lily's comment and came over to have a look. She was very enthusiastic about my picture and even held it up for the class to see. She explained some technicalities that I had overcome perfectly. I knew I was blushing scarlet. Luckily the bell rang then and I fled to the dining hall. Lily followed short on my heels.

"What are you running for? That was a great picture. You'll probably get full marks for it. Perhaps Mrs Sunny will put it on show at the school's arts exhibition."

"No!" I yelled, pressing my face in my hands. I'll have to get it back somehow. There were already some students in the hall - some waiting in line to get their food, others sitting at tables enjoying their lunch. My sudden outburst attracted attention. I put my grey hood up in an attempt to shut off the world.

"You are not yourself tonight, you know," she said, steering me by my arm. I didn't have any appetite, so I only took a soda. We sat at our usual spot. I looked fleetingly at where I knew Jayden and his friends always sat. They were laughing about something, seemingly unaware of anything else. Who am I kidding, he's not into me at all. He just did what he had to get me to do my part as his lab partner. What an idiot I am!

"What is wrong?" Lily asked, placing her chin on her hands, staring into my face with an expression of 'I'm all ears'."

I couldn't suppress a smile. I didn't want to discuss Jayden so I talked about class.

"I don't know. At Bio class I couldn't handle the smell of blood."

Her eyes widened.

"Did you want to attack Mr Spruce or something?"

"NO!" I said, then whispered as I saw many were looking in our direction again, "It was nauseating. I couldn't stand it."

"That's odd…even for a half-blood…and the picture you drew of Jayden. Why him?"

Darn. I should have known she'd question me about it.

"I don't know. I wasn't thinking, I just drew."

She had a knowing look on her face.

"Holly, are you…?"

"No, I'm not!" I said too quickly. She just shrugged her shoulders and drank her 'juice'. I could smell it too. I suddenly had to jump up and run for the girls toilets and barely made it.

Sam took me straight home for which I was glad. I've had enough excitement for one night.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Club Night

Later, when I'd rested a while and was feeling a lot better I decided to go for a swim outside. At home Sam wasn't following me around like at school. I had put on a bikini my mom had bought me. It was black with bright orange trimmings. It showed off my belly ring nicely. Just a shame it was dark, and no guys around. This sucks… at least it was warm outside. I jumped in and swam several laps before plunging down on my towel, spread out on the grass nearby. I stretched myself out on my stomach, listening to the wind blow through the trees, the crickets and other night sounds. Millions of stars twinkled above me. I wondered what my mom was doing right now. Well, duh…she'd be sleeping, it's only 1 am in the morning after all… I wanted to talk to someone, anyone. I grabbed my cell phone and started typing a message to Jess, but then cancelled the message. She'd be sleeping now too so I wouldn't get a reply from her right now…

"I'm scared…," I typed into the message box and looked at it for a while. So much had happened and things were so uncertain now. I didn't know what to expect from the future. Tears welled up in my eyes. The cell phone accidently slipped from my hand and fell onto the towel, but I decided not to pick it up. There was no-one I could send that message to anyway without making them worried and mothering me. I didn't want that. I sighed and laid my head down on the towel and eventually slumbered in.

I dreamt of Jayden. He was smiling gently at me, but there was something different about it…something very dark and sinister. "Jayden," I had whispered. He reached his hand to my cheek…

It was already five hours later when I finally woke. I was covered in something soft and warm…I opened my eyes and realized I was lying in my bed. I sat up quickly. How did I get here? Last I remembered I was lying on a towel outside by the swimming pool in the middle of the night like some weirdo. My cheek was feeling warm. Was it from the dream? Goodness! Somehow I felt uneasy. I noticed that my window was slightly open; the wind was blowing the curtain. As expected there was no-one outside. Who carried me here and why didn't I wake up?

To my surprise my dad sat with me while I ate that morning. He was very interested in what had happened the previous night. I told him about Bio and the blood. He confirmed my suspicion that my heritage were already starting to show and that I didn't have to be too concerned about the 'side effects' of crossing over. My dad didn't say anything about my falling asleep next to the pool and I was too embarrassed to ask. Whoever carried me to my room saw me in a bikini. Could it have been Sam? Eww… I didn't want to think about it and forced the thoughts out of my head.

I couldn't fall asleep again after breakfast, so I ended up taking a walk in the gardens and later reading some magazines on the verandah. I was happy to find that I could still go out in the daylight, although it had been overcast. Vampires can't expose themselves to daylight, it would instantly kill them. Some half-bloods could tolerate the sun for a bit while others not. It was different for each individual. I felt sad thinking that perhaps soon I'd never be able to look at the sun again. Oddly I couldn't get rid of the feeling that I was being watched.

That night I had to endure a lot of ridicule at school because of my spectacular run to the toilets. Many made getting sick noises or held their hands in front of their mouths for me to see. I wasn't very impressed when I found a bag hung on my locker saying 'puke-bag' on it. I tried ignoring everyone and Lily seemed oblivious to my torments. She chatted cheerfully about the upcoming summer dance. It was still two months away. I couldn't imagine a dance consisting out of werewolves and vampires…it just seemed so odd… There seemed to be a summer and winter dance every year. While this was most likely in the spirit of encouraging peaceful relations between the species, I for one didn't look forward to it. I couldn't dance to save my life.

Lili was sure that John would ask her to the dance. She had been making eyes at him for weeks. They then started writing each other 'secret' notes, leaving it in each other's lockers. It had been going on for three months before they got to the first kiss stage, she one time told me.

"When are you going to let him know?" she suddenly asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Jayden. It's obvious that you like him…"

_Gosh, is it that obvious?_

"How I feel is unimportant. Besides, he's way above my league."

She rolled her eyes at me.

"Nonsense. You two are perfect for each other."

"Lily, I know you mean well, but I'm not ready to get hurt…again."

I should have left the last part out. Too late now…

"Again? Who was this guy? A human? Of course it wouldn't last."

"I _am _part human, you know."

"No offense meant. What happened?"

"It was my last year in middle school. His friends dared him to date me and then ditch me a day before exams."

"That's cruel!" she said furiously, her eyes darkening.

"Anyway. That has taught me to be careful. I _do_ like Jayden, but I won't rush into things, okay?"

"Okay, but I still think you two are meant for each other…"

Jayden and I had become good lab partners and worked together well. Luna still glared at me every day, but I've learnt to live with it in a way. Sam wasn't so much on my case anymore. He would from time to time disappear somewhere. Perhaps it was to test me?

"What are you doing after school?" Lily asked as we were packing up.

"Go home, find my dad is still at some meeting or another, do my homework, then sit and bore myself to death, if I'm not writing to Jessica."

She laughed at me. "Well, do you want to perhaps do something?"

"Like what?" I asked. I don't know what a vamp liked to do with their spare time.

"We can go to Club Night."

"A club….I don't think that's a good idea."

"Come on! Club Night is where everybody hang out. Tomorrow's Saturday so no need to worry about school."

"What about John?"

"He can't hang with us. He has something going on with the boys."

"I'll have to get permission from my dad."

"He'll probably not be there anyway, and besides, you _have _a bodyguard."

I sighed.

"Week-ends are his off-time. Besides, I don't want someone following me around 24-7."

"Then sneak out."

"What?"

"Sneak out. What's the worst that can happen?"

"My dad can send me to live in Siberia."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Everyone knows of Club Night. It's a very respected place by our kind. You can really just chill and be yourself."

It sounded like fun. She gave me the puppy-eye look. How could I resist?

"Okay."

"Great! I'll pick you up at three. I'll park around the corner so Sam won't get suspicious."

The club would be difficult to find. It wasn't exactly on the main road. Outside it didn't look like there was much going on. If it wasn't for people heading there and loud music flowing out the door every time it opened it would have looked just like an abandoned ally. A creepy looking bouncer looked us up and down at the door.

"Hi, Hugo!"

Lily greeted him with a peck on the cheek and a hug.

"Oh, it's you. I was just wondering who this newcomer is."

"My friend, Holly. She's new around here. I'm going to show her the _real_ life," she said winking.

Hugo grinned and opened the door for us.

"Enjoy yourselves."

"Why was he looking at me like that?"

"He probably feared you're human. You still have their smell. Sometimes silly human girls come here in the hope of hooking up with a vamp, perhaps get a free bite. He has to keep those out. Humans can go to the other side of the club. There's what we call a blood bank. Those who want to, can get bitten at a price."

"Bitten?! You mean they actually pay to have a vampire chew on their neck?!"

Lily laughed at me. "It's actually not as bad as it sounds. The vamp gets their ratio of blood and the humans enjoy the bite."

"Enjoy it, seriously?" I asked with disgust. What can be so nice about having fangs in your throat?

"You've obviously never been bitten before…"Lily said with a dreamy look,"it's something out of this world…"

"Didn't the police ever try to shut this place down?" I asked.

Surely rumors would have spread of a vampire and werewolf club? _Sucking on peoples necks, _I added in my mind. I had almost shouted my last comment and some people nearby were looking at me funnily.

"Yeah, well they tend to turn their ears and eyes away. The owner of the club pays them well. Besides, most humans think it's way too cool."

I was surprised that Lily brought me here and that she seemed so relaxed. I doubted that her mom knew anything about his…she'd get grounded for a year.

It was a busy night at the club. It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Lights flickered and some band I didn't know almost rocked the ceiling off. Many were dancing, others sat at tables, drinking. The smell…I breathed through my mouth.

Lily led me to an empty table in one corner, then left to get us something to drink. I was very self-conscious. No one stared at me, but I could sense that they were aware that I'm a newcomer. I tried not to look anyone in the eyes.

After a long while Lily still hadn't come back and I wondered where she was. A very scary looking dude was eyeing me, as if he wanted to come over and talk. I got up quickly, and went in search of Lily. I made my way through the dancing crowd, the only way to get to the bar _and_ avoid the scary dude. He had pink and blue spiky hair and his left ear was pierced with several rings. I wasn't sure if he was vamp or wolf. At the bar I asked about Lily. The barman said she went to the 'rooms'.

"What rooms?" I asked. He pointed me at a door, then shooed me away. I knocked and went in. Was this the restroom? I found myself in some kind of corridor. What on earth would she do here? She didn't go to the…bloodbank, did she? I was about to head back when I got pushed into one of the rooms with such force that I ran into the wall, bumping my head.

"Ouch, what the hell do you think…!" I yelled, but then saw it was the scary dude and the rest of the sentence died off.

He had followed me! My heart rate picked up significantly.

"I'm not here to be bitten. I'm looking for my friend, Lily," I said in what I hoped was a calm voice, trying to disguise the fact that I recognized him from the club. Maybe he works for the blood bank or something?

"Why would you want Lily when you can have me?" he asked in a low voice and narrowed eyes. I didn't like him at all. He smiled, revealing his fangs. Vampire. At least now I know...

"Sorry, but as much as I would like to stay and chat, I _have_ to find my friend," I said as nonchalantly as possible, trying to push past him. He grabbed my wrist.

"Not so fast," he grinned, "I first want a sip, then you can go."

"Forget it, freak!" I yelled, yanking my arm, but he held on like an iron chain.

"Let go!" I yelled and then bit his arm. He cursed and let go of my wrist. I ran for the door, but he had me by my hair before I could get out. I screamed. I didn't think it would help much though, with the loud music booming through the whole building.

He threw me back against the wall. My head was spinning. I think he actually pulled some of my hair out! Before I could clear my head he jumped at me. I instinctively blocked with my arm. His eyes were frantic, animal-like. His fangs were all bared and ready to get me. There was no way he was wanting 'just a sip'.

"Get off me!" I yelled and tried to kick him. He was too heavy for me.

"Help!" I yelled, hoping someone would hear me by some miracle. My arm was starting to give in.

Then suddenly something crashed into him, flinging him off me. I sat up, out of breath from the struggle. The scary dude got up quickly to face the newcomer. I couldn't make him out in the dim light. When he spoke I recognized his voice.

"Jayden!"

I felt relieved and confused at the same time. What was he doing here?

Scary guy tried to scare Jayden with threats. Then they ran into each other, hissing and biting. I was so worried about Jayden, that I didn't even think of getting out of here. The fighting suddenly stopped.

"Okay, okay, you win. Take her, she didn't look like she was going to be much fun, anyway," he said and left the room. He was bleeding quite badly. I just stared at the door, then at Jayden as he came to me, wiping his mouth.

"Are you all right?" he asked. I couldn't talk, so I just nodded. He helped me up, but I couldn't stand. My hip was hurting terribly. I groaned. He let me down on the bed.

"My hip, I think it is cracked or something."

He knelt and felt my side. I instantly felt a blush spread on my face.

"No, not broken, just dislocated. I'll push it back. Hold on to me."

I did as he asked. My hip 'clicked' back as he janked it. I couldn't stifle another cry.

"Sorry," he said, taking my hands in his.

"It's not your fault..." I started off angrily but then in a calmer tone,"…you saved my life. Thank you."

"What were you doing here?" he asked sounding a bit irritated.

"I came with Lily. The barman said she was here. I didn't realize that creep was going to try to get hold of my throat." We heard some commotion in the corridor. Jayden's hearing was better than mine. He looked worried. He suddenly got onto the bed next to me, wrapping me in his arms.

"Follow my example!" he hissed in my ear, then started kissing me. I was so surprised that I froze. Someone opened the door and peaked in. I caught a glimpse of two vampires dressed in long black cloaks. They looked quite scary… Jayden was kissing me like mad, as if the world was going to end. His back was turned to the door.

He nudged me in the side. _Oh, we're supposed to pretend…_ I got out of my stupor and kissed him back on his cheek. I heard the vampires mumbled something and the door closed again. He let go of me.

"That was close…", then he glared at me.

"You know you could have at least tried to look more convincing, you are a terrible kisser!"

I felt insulted.

"Of course I would suck as a kisser, I've never kissed anyone before!" I defended myself, then regretted for letting the cat out of the bag. Yes, I never kissed the guy I dated in my old school – I'm such a loser… I turned beetroot red and stared at my feet. Jayden was struck speechless.

"Let's just get out of here," I said quickly and got up. He followed me as we made our way back to the club. We found Lily on the dance floor. She didn't even look too worried.

"Oh, there you are! I thought you would go and do some exploring! And Jayden! Good to see you!"

Jayden left soon after. I was still lightheaded. My cheeks and neck were still burning where he had showered me with kisses. He didn't kiss my mouth, though. I wish he had…The memory of his arms around me… I sat down and drunk my fruit juice as Lily cut it out on the dance floor. It was dawn when we finally went home.

"Did you enjoy it at Club Night?" My dad asked when I walked into the living room.

I knew there was no way around it and let my head hang in shame.

"Er….yes…I'm sorry, I would have asked, but you were out," I tried to lamely excuse myself.

To my surprise he didn't look angry.

"You were with Lily, were you not?"

"Yes."

"Then it's fine. As long as you're not alone."

He put the paper down that he was reading and got up.

"I'm off to bed, now. It was a long night. I suggest you do the same if you don't want to embarrass yourself at school."

"Are you not going to ground me or something for sneaking out?" I asked, stuck dumb by my dad's behavior.

"The only way you will learn to be responsible is for you to make your own choices and bear whatever the consequences are. I will advice that you just leave a note or something in future, just so that I have an idea where to find you if need be."

"Okay."

My hip was still stiff when I went to school. I felt confused. Why had Jayden pretended to be a biter? Why was he there in the first place? Was it a regular hang-out of his? Did he enjoy biting human girls? What would have happened if we were caught? I still blushed whenever I thought of his kisses.

_O gosh, I think I'm in love._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Bad news

I sneaked peeks at Jayden whenever I thought he wouldn't notice. I just couldn't help myself. Lily asked me what was going on with me at lunchtime. I said I think I was getting sick. Just then I saw I got a sms from Jessica, saying that she and William, the school's football star and 'hunk' were dating. I didn't like William at all. He was a complete ass, in capitals.

"I'll be right back," I told Lily and phoned Jessica. She was so happy to hear my voice.

"You know it's past twelve?" she asked sleepily. I had forgotten about the time difference…

"Sorry, but this can't wait. What is this thing with you and William?" I asked in a low voice.

"We are kind-of dating now. You know, he is not so bad once you get to know him."

"Yeah right. All he cares about is getting you into bed."

Jessica got angry with me.

"Just because _you_ are still a virgin who hasn't even kissed a boy before – not even David whom you dated for three months - doesn't mean I have to sit by and do nothing!"

It stung, but I guess I deserved it. It was true, well partly now. If you can count kisses on other parts of your body…

"You're right, I'm sorry, Jessica" I said with a sigh, trying to calm myself down, "What I'm going to say now is not because I want to be nasty, but because I value you as a friend. You deserve better than William, much better….wait, let me finish what I have to say…you remember the night before I left, when we all went to the fairgrounds? William wanted to get all smoochy with me. I told him to fly to the moon. He then tried to be forceful, so I gave him the Holly salute and ran for it. I hope I am wrong and that he _has_ changed, but I don't think he is looking for a long-term relationship."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jessica asked quietly.

Jessica sounded like she wanted to cry and I instantly felt terrible.

"I'm so sorry, but I was embarrassed about the whole thing. Had I known he'd come after you when I'm gone, I would have. He's probably trying to get even with me through you. Hell, he's still sending stupid jokes by e-mail, posing to be some surfer dude from Hawaii, thinking I won't recognize him. You know the stun gun I gave you? At the bottom you can change the voltage. I would suggest you put it on the medium setting and carry it with you. The jerk won't know what hit him."

Jessica laughed, but it sounded sad. I tried to cheer her up.

"And if he doesn't leave you alone, I have some other ideas. Just let me know."

"I will. Thanks again for being a good friend, Holly. I miss you so much. When are you coming to visit?"

"I don't know. Right now things are quite…hectic. I'll write more about it later. Sleep well."

"Thank you for not holding that to yourself to spare me," she finally said.

"Anytime. That's what friends do, isn't it?"

"You're right…goodnight."

"Bye."

I realized that the hall was unusually quiet. I had walked to a corner which seemed to be a bit private, and then it struck me. How could I have been so dumb. Vampires and werewolves…superior hearing…_duh_…many students were looking at me. Others whispered to each other. I heard chuckles. I felt sick. I wasn't going to blush and rush out. _Holly, you don't have anything to feel embarrassed about_, I told myself. Perhaps if I repeated that to myself 2000 times it would be true… I kept my face carefully straight and walked casually back to Lily. Even her mouth was hanging open.

"Hello?" I said, waving my hand before her. The normal hum-drum of voices started up again.

"You gave your friend a _stun gun_?" she asked.

"Yes…. I didn't think I'd have use for it anymore, so I gave it to her."

_I wonder where I could get one here? It would have been nice to stun that creepy jerk in the club, now that I think of it…_

"What is the Holly salute?"

_Huh…no privacy_…

"I'd…rather not talk about it," I finally said. Lily let it go to my relief. I had been all too aware of a certain very handsome guy listening attentively, even though he is sitting four tables away from us. _Could he hear my heartbeat?_ I wondered.

I couldn't wait for Biology class and I was first at our lab table. Mr Spruce was explaining something boring about certain vegetables that can be used as weapons. Jayden hadn't looked very happy or anything to see me. His face was once again passive. I wanted to give him a bracelet I had made for him. It had beads braded into it. On it was the letters of his name. I wondered how he would react? I was unsure if I should give it to him or not. I waited until the bell rang, then slipped the small packet into his hand.

"Just to say thank you," I whispered, then legged it to the lockers. I didn't look back to see what he would do with it. Perhaps he'll throw it into the bin. Better not to know.

The next night I felt nervous going to school. It was like I had butterflies in my stomach. I knew I was being stupid. I'm already head over heels for this guy, and he'd only kissed me to save my life or something. It could have been nothing more. I never managed to ask him why he was at Club Night. I was being silly and I felt a little depressed. I knew I would not handle it well if I got rejected. Maybe I shouldn't have given him the bracelet? What if I screwed up our friendship? We didn't have Biology class today, so I wouldn't have to be near him. I was too chicken to look at him now. I felt annoyed with myself for being such a wimp. Lily couldn't understand what was going on with me. I replied it's just a human thing, it would pass.

Avril was singing about kicking butt in a small town she grew up in on my mp3 player as I was sweeping the classroom. This semester was almost over. I've noticed newcomers to our class. A boy and a girl, brother and sister. Vamps. Both extremely beautiful, as usual. Blond hair and blue eyes - so unfair! They would be joining classes until they continue on their journey next year. This was indeed the weirdest school ever. This school also didn't teach only conventional subjects. Many classes were specific to vampires or werewolves, about self-defence and survival and of course how to live in harmony. Perhaps something like social studies at my old school.

Things seemed to go on. Jayden never said anything about the bracelet and I didn't ask. I couldn't see if he wore it, he usually wore long sleeve jerseys or jackets. Not that a vampire needed to. We worked together fine as lab partners like before, but that was it. Nothing more, nothing less. I could never tell what he was thinking which was frustrating. At least I didn't screw up our friendship, if it could be called that.

One day I noticed that something was bothering Jayden. He was avoiding eye contact with me.

I couldn't believe it when I was informed in Bio class to change partners with Luna. I felt torn apart. Had Jayden asked this? I looked at him, but his face revealed nothing.

I felt repulsed as I looked at Luna's back. She was standing close to him, too close to my liking. She had smiled like a cat whom got a whole truckload of fish.

_O god, I'm jealous! And he's not even my boyfriend…_

I felt defeated. I had no claim on Jayden. What he did was his problem. I'm not going to get hurt again...When Bio was over, I strode pass, ignoring them flatly. Sam drove me home in silence.

I cried until I finally fell asleep. Lily didn't even notice I was grumpy the next day, perhaps because I've been acting weird lately and kept making excuses.

"Oh, by the way, why did you and Jayden change lab partners?" she asked on our way to have lunch at the canteen._ Very tacktful, Lily_.

"I really don't know why," I told her and sat down with a sigh, very much irritated. Not because I'm confused and feel like tearing Luna up, but because she was sitting with him… Jayden looked up at me once as I was staring at him, trying to see what is going on in his mind. I looked away quickly. I knew I could never hide my feelings well, and I didn't want to see his smile of satisfaction or whatever it is he's trying to do to me. I hated him.

I jumped when my cell phone rang. Nobody ever phoned me at school... I saw it was my mom.

I walked out of the hall this time and answered. She was very happy. That was a relief. I had thought something was wrong.

"Darling, you won't believe what happened last night!"

"What? You finally perfected the baked Alaska?" I joked.

"No, even better. Paul proposed to me!" I felt like I was struck over the head with a wheel spanner.

"Oh…um…congrats…" I stuttered.

"I just wanted to let you know the great news. We're getting married in October. You are invited of course and you are my maid of honor."

"What?! I can't…I mean…me all dressed up and stuff? Mom…seriously, can't you ask one of your zillion friends?"

"No darling, I want it to be you. You are my daughter and there is no one more dear to me than you."

I sighed. I knew when my mom used that tone it meant that nothing could sway her.

"I don't have to make a speech, do I?"

"You don't have to hun, I know how you feel about that."

"And dad?" There was silence on the other side for a while.

"You know why he can't…"

"Yeah, you never told me why you guys broke up in the first place."

She sighed.

"We were just too different, Holly. His world…I couldn't adjust."

"Yeah, whatever," I said casually. I never liked very deep discussions, especially if I'm only going to get half answers. "I'm happy for you that you are happy, mom. Take care."

"You too, Holly. I'll email you the details. Keep me updated of anything new, you know…friends, boyfriends..."

"Okay, bye mom," I said quickly. She was laughing.

I felt like a drunkard. _My life is so over._ My mom's getting married. I will just be in the way. Did dad want me here indefinitely? I'm supposed to learn to control my inner demon or vampire or something. What happens after that? Jayden seems to be hanging out with Luna now. My family life was in ruins, my love life sucked. What was I living for?

Sam was sitting at a table at the back of the cafeteria as usual. I walked over to Lily, avoiding looking in Jayden's direction. She got up quickly.

"Holly, what's wrong?"

I stood there not saying anything. I only blinked and looked at her. I looked over at where Sam was slowly looking up from the newspaper he was reading. Finally I looked at where Jayden and his friends sat. Everyone, so I felt, was waiting to see me run or throw up. Luna looked amused, whispering some comment to those with her. It kinda felt like everything was happening in slow motion.

"I don't believe it…"I muttered, "my mom is getting married…"

"That's great, isn't it?" Lily was almost yelling, or so it felt to me at that moment.

"I was hoping...never-mind. That complicates things…"

My dad didn't have much to say about my mom getting married. He just said that she must do what makes her happy. I could tell that he was sad though. I had hoped that they would get back together somehow. He asked me how I felt about it.

"I don't know. I had been opposing it. I had actually thought that was why she sent me to you…"

I still couldn't ask him why they couldn't stay together. He squeezed my hand comfortingly.

"You always have a home here, Holly," he said and I could see that he meant it. The tears I'd been holding back suddenly burst out. I didn't realize how much my mom's relationship with Paul was bothering me. My dad held me until I stopped sobbing.

"I know this is hard for you, Holly. Just know that I'll try to be there for you as much as I can."

"Thanks, dad."

I felt a lot better the next night. I had a place where I could belong, here with my dad. I felt proud to have him as a father, even if he was away a lot. I couldn't understand how my mom could give someone like him up for someone like Paul… To my surprise Sam didn't get out with me like before. He simply greeted me and drove off. No bodyguard…I wondered if I should feel relieved or not?

I decided to ignore Jayden en Luna from now on. I was going to make my own happiness. Lily was happy to see me all "cheery". I showed her the new cell phone my dad had left for me this morning. It was one of those ultra-thin flip-open ones. It had a special clip that easily attached to anything I was wearing. We quizzed each other on history since we would be writing a test today. Vampire and werewolf history. I think I did okay.

Lunch time I got myself a burger, an apple and Lily had her usual 'juice'. The cafeteria catered for all the groups.

"Mmmm, I am quite hungry," I said and took a bite of the burger. To my surprise it didn't taste nice at all. I swallowed and then tried the apple. It wasn't nice either. I frowned. Are they making food taste bad here on purpose?

"What?" Lily asked, looking at the burger and apple in my plate and then me.

"You're not crossing over, are you?"

"What?"

"Crossing over. You know, changing to vamp."

"Is that supposed to happen?"

"I think so. Didn't your dad explain things to you?"

"He said I would experience the other side of my heritage more strongly when I turn 17."

"Here, try a sip of this."

"No, yuck! I can't drink that!"

I took my coke and gulped down half of it. It was disgusting. I pretended to enjoy it. Lily just laughed and shook her head.

"You'll have to adapt sometime. Cheers." She lifted her drink to mine and drank the last of hers. My eyes suddenly fell on the apple. My teeth left a mark where I bit a piece off. There were two slightly deeper holes…I dumped the burger and the apple in the bin when the bell rang. My appetite was gone.

Biology was a little bit more fun, because I got along with my new partner. He wasn't Jayden, but he wasn't stupid either. With my help he could be the best. We had an experiment which required mixing two substances together very carefully. If done correctly, the two colours would not mix. If not, it would all suddenly turn black, emitting a very nauseating smoke. I had to do ours. Luna was trying to distract me by whispering things to Jayden while glancing at me. I pressed my lips on each other, determined and completed the exercise successfully.

"Eureka!" I said in a dramatic gesture to my lab partner who clapped his hands.

My sudden outburst had startled Luna so that she bumped Jayden, causing him to fail the experiment. He was very annoyed. Luna apologized, blushing terribly. I actually felt sorry for her. Poor girl. _Not._

Mr Spruce praised us. I had been the first in our class to complete the experiment. Some of the others soon followed, but many failed. When the bell rang, I flipped my bag over my shoulder, and marched to the door, doing some kind of jig. I just felt good tonight. I skipped out into the corridor right into Lily. She laughed.

"What was that?" she asked.

"My victory dance! I've completed the experiment successfully and that _while _someone was trying very hard to distract me!" I hadn't noticed that Luna and Jayden had walked out and could hear me. Jayden glared at her and she blushed shamefully.

"I feel terrific. It's gym class next, isn't it?" I asked cheerfully. Lily just looked at me with a smile, shaking her head.

"I really think you're crossing over. You used to hate gym class…and the sudden energy burst and optimism…just take it easy okay. Stay on earth."

"I'll try…it just feels like I can do anything right now. Like I could climb mount Everest or hike the Grand Canyon!"

"Whoah super woman, just focus on gym class for now."

I laughed.

"Good idea, mount Everest can wait."

We would all be going for a jog. Five kilometres, nothing for vamps and werewolves.

"You can wait here, if you wish," Mr Boomer told me.

"No way, I feel like trying!"

I loved running, even it was more like crawling to them. Mr Boomer just lifted an eyebrow but said nothing.

I started off slowly. Lily kept pace with me. I picked up pace. Nope, still no super speed for me. I did get tired after a while, but I persisted. When we finally entered the school grounds I sat down, panting heavily. Lily sat down next to me, not even breathing hard.

"That's unfair!" I said between breaths, "just wait until I get my powers, I'll shame you all!" I said dramatically, plopping down onto my back. Lily just giggled.

Luna and her friends were waiting with the others, not impressed as I suspected they would be. She instead called out Jayden's name and waved to him. He didn't wave back. She pretended not to notice. I did notice him stare at me for a while. As always his face didn't betray anything.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – The Masons

That morning I sat up until late. It bothered me that Jayden and I didn't talk anymore. It wasn't my fault that we were separated as lab partners. I tried talking to him several times, but he would only respond bluntly and didn't answer more than half my questions. I even sms'd him and never got a response.

_Wait…_

I was looking through my message history and noticed that the night my cell phone fell while I was next to the pool my message got sent…to Jayden! OMG… Does that mean that he…? Well, now I guess I'd never know… I felt happy and depressed all at once. I swore I was getting bi-polar or something…

Saturday evening. I decided to walk around in town a bit. There was this place where they had all kinds of shops that stayed open until late, a night market. There was always cheerful music playing and interesting things to eat and see. I had decided that it would do me good. Lily couldn't come, because she had drama practice. She was going to act in the school play later that year. She actually wanted me to join, but drama was not my cup of tea. I got enough of it in everyday life, especially since I moved here. I bumped into somebody and quickly apologized, then I realized it was the newcomer and his sister. They greeted me and invited me to walk around with them. His name was Blade Mason and hers Gale Mason. Interesting names…They traveled here with their 'family' and would be here for a couple of months. Blade was very polite. The way he looked at me as he spoke made my head rush. He could pass for a super model any time.

Lily didn't come to school the next night and I decided to phone her later. I joined Blade and Gale during lunch. Once I frankly looked at Jayden, and was shocked. His face reflected intense anger and hatred. Did he hate me now? What did I do? I looked away, feeling terrible. Blade put his hand on mine and smiled gently when I looked at him. Did he see? He started talking about a place they visited in France. Perhaps he didn't see, perhaps he was just being nice. He didn't remove his hand from mine, however. I heard a grunt and we looked to see Jayden push his chair out harshly and walk out of the cafeteria, leaving his friends and Luna behind.

"Wow, wonder what's got into him," I said.

"He's not the friendliest fellow," Gale added.

"Yeah, we used to get along fine. Then he suddenly went all funny."

"Really? That's interesting," Blade was saying as he slowly removed his hand from mine. Was he teasing Jayden? What was going on? Did they know each other?

I had scarcely left the school building that morning when Jayden grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the gym hall which would be empty now.

"Ouch, you're hurting me!" I complained, but he seemed not to hear. He looked really upset. When we were inside, he checked that we were alone.

"What are you doing?" he asked angrily.

I was completely taken aback.

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused.

"Don't play smart with me! Do you know who you are playing with?"

"As a matter of fact, I don't know you at all, Jayden."

"Not me, _them_."

So they do know each other.

"Why does it upset you so that I'm with them?"

Jayden pulled his hands through his long white hair in frustration.

"He's no good. He will only use you…and then throw you away."

"Jealous, are we?" I asked sarcastically, "why do you care? One day you suddenly decide to ignore me, the next you try to 'save' me from the clutches of evil count Dracula. How sweet."

He grabbed me by the shoulders, shaking me. His eyes were black as night. _Gosh, he's angry. Perhaps I'm pushing him too far?_

"I'm not ignoring you. I'm trying to protect you by staying away from you."

"Wow, now _that_ makes sense."

"He will use whatever and whoever he can to get to me. I was trying to prevent that. Holly, you must believe me when I say he's not nice. What you see is only the mask."

"And what lies underneath _your_ mask?" I asked softly. He stared into my eyes for what seemed an eternity, then he leaned closer and kissed me on the mouth. I was surprised at first. I wanted to stay angry with him and push him away, but couldn't. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him back. His kiss was gentle and I felt so safe in his arms. I wish he'd never let go. Finally he pulled back.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have," he said then headed for the door.

"Jayden!" I called, but he already disappeared.

Now I was completely confused. Jayden had his passive face on again the next night at school. Lily still hasn't come. I sent her a sms and phoned yesterday, but she didn't reply. What on earth was going on? I make small-talk with Blade and Gale. They had done nothing to me. Why should I be rude? Blade invited me to go with them to Club Night but I said I couldn't go.

"Oh, already have plans? Does it involve _Cortez?_" Blade asked sweetly. So he noticed that I've been peeking at Jayden.

"No. Actually I'm going to visit my friend, Lily. She's been absent two nights already. I want to go and see what's up."

"Allright, but if you get bored, you know where to find us," he said smiling a brilliant smile. One of those that makes your knees jelly.

Lily's mom was surprised to see me.

"What do you mean _is she here_? She went to stay over at your place for a couple of nights, she said so in her note."

"What note?" She gave me a hand-written note.

_Mom,_

_I'm staying over at Holly's place for a couple of nights. Will be back round-about weekend. Have an important project to work on._

_Lily_

"Do you want to tell me she is not at your place?" Lily's mom asked with an expression that said she would be punished big time. She had scarcely finished her 'ground' last week.

"Er…no, she is staying at my place…she said she had to fetch some cds. Perhaps we just missed each other. I'll head over there now."

I wasn't sure what to do. Dad was still out…I decided to go to Jayden's house. He should be able to help, right? I was seriously worried about Lily. I had an idea where he stayed. It was a mansion on the outskirts of town. The old farmers road, I heard. The road was old and very muddy since it rained the day before. Eerie looking trees stooped over me, swaying sadly in the chilly breeze that announced winter's arrival. I heard an owl hoot in a distance. _Wow…no wonder he's so moody…this place is absolutely depressing…and lonely…and scary… what was that? _Some bushes rustled nearby, but I didn't see anything. I was now almost tiptoeing and scarcely breathing. Perhaps this is the wrong road? There must be another, less creepy farmer's road…

I was just about to turn back, when I spotted something that looked like a driveway. I swallowed, straightened my shoulders and followed it to the house. It was an old, but somehow beautiful house. The walls were in a state of disrepair, and parts were covered in ivy. Apart from an old rusted mailbox that swung in the wind, squeaking, nothing was stirring. No lights were on. There wasn't even tyre tracks or anything. Perhaps this is the wrong place? _I wonder if anyone's home? Or even live here_? I hesitated on the step as I reached for the knocker, a serpent head that was holding a ring. Perhaps he will just be annoyed? I don't want to bother him. Maybe I should just go and search for Lily myself? I never knew where I stood with Jayden…

I decided to sneak out of the yard. With a sigh I turned around and walked right into something. I was so startled that I let out a yell. It was Jayden.

"You scared me!" I accused him. He looked…different. He was wearing all black, and his long leather coat swayed softly in the wind. His knee length boots were covered in mud. His long hair was disheveled. He must have been running. His eyes were quite dark, usually meaning a vampire has to feed. Unless they are angry, then their eyes also get dark. He didn't look angry. Right now he looked so dangerous….so sexy… I couldn't tell what the expression on his face meant. He still hadn't said anything. He just stood there, staring at me as if he couldn't figure out why I was standing on his doorstep.

"I…um…wanted to ask your help…Lily's missing. She left her mom a note that she's staying over with me. She doesn't respond to my calls. I'm worried."

He now walked passed me, unlocked the door and walked in. The door was still open, so I guessed that meant that I could enter as well. I followed hesitantly. At least I'd get some shelter from the icy wind outside. I was surprised to see that there was no furniture, only some things covered with sheets and a few boxes. This didn't look or feel like a house was being lived in. _How long has he been here already? A year?_

Jayden waited at the staircase that led upstairs.

"Are you coming?" he asked, barely any emotion in his voice.

He was starting to scare me now. I don't know him like this. I followed him upstairs and into a room. His room. For a moment I had the urge to turn around and run out screaming, but curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to know more about him. He's never hurt me before…This is my chance to figure him out a bit more. This room had some furniture in it. He sat down in front of a desk, switching on his laptop. The walls were grey. I saw a single bed with black and purple bedding. _Why would he need a bed? _He had a nice stereo system. So he liked music. That's a start. He obviously liked black and purple? I couldn't tell much more. There were no posters on the walls, no ornaments or anything that could give away more about him. There was no other place to sit, so I sat down on his bed. It was very comfortable. The bedding was soft. I knew that he was perfectly aware of me analyzing his whole room, but he kept quiet.

He was typing an e-mail to someone. It didn't take very long. He got up, removed his leather coat. He had a black t-shirt on. It didn't hide his muscular arms and chest. I felt butterflies in my stomach. He was _very_ attractive. He never dressed so sexy for school…and he was wearing the bracelet I gave him!

"I think I know how to find Lily," he said, slowly pacing the room. I waited for him to continue.

"But I don't want you to get involved in this…"

"I'm _not_ going to sit by and do nothing!"

"You have no idea what's going on here. I do. It's all under control. Lily will be back in no time."

I stared at him for a while.

"Why don't you trust me?"

"It's not that…"

I interrupted him. "I don't understand you, Jayden. I had thought we were friends, but you just keep pushing me away. It's _very _frustrating."

He suddenly knelt in front of me, taking my hands in his.

"I don't mean to hurt you, Holly," he said looking into my eyes, "I'm honestly just trying to protect you. If something happened to you, I would never be able to forgive myself."

My heart fluttered. _He cares about me! Whoopie!_ My heart rate was playing traitor and I think my face was too. I could feel it warm up like a stove plate. I shyly looked away from his eyes but he turned my face back to face him.

"I …care about you, Holly," he said as if choosing his words carefully, "but I cannot afford complications…there is a lot you don't know about me. I am dangerous, Holly. There are those who seek to destroy me…and I don't want you to be one of their victims…"

"If you would only tell me…"

He didn't let me finish.

"I need you to trust me. Please be patient. I can assure you Lily will come to no harm."

"Why can't you tell me what's going on?"

He shaked his head slowly.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't. It's better that you don't know."

I felt disappointed. He said he cared about me and wanted to protect me, but why doesn't he trust me enough to tell me what's going on?

"I'm not leaving until you tell me," I said folding my arms over me chest.

"Really? Then you'll be waiting a very long time. It's almost time to sleep. Perhaps you'll join me, keep me warm?" he asked suggestively. My heart did a somersault. He was toying with me, trying to get me to leave by being seductive. I wasn't planning to let him win! Besides, vampires don't sleep!

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea. Maybe you'll start talking in your sleep?" I asked defiantly. He narrowed his eyes, but still smiled. His face was suddenly right in front of mine. The sudden movement startled me and reminded me that if he wanted he could end my life in the blink of an eye. His expression was deadly serious.

"Holly…I am not who you think I am. I cannot give you more than friendship and the promise that Lily will not come to harm."

It felt like my heart tore apart as he said those words…_cannot give you more than friendship…_So he didn't care after all? I felt terribly confused. He just said that he cared?

"What was the kiss in the gym for then?"

I jumped up, angry and frustrated.

"You know, I think I know perfectly well who you are. I've met one of _your _kind before. I will not be used and thrown away again! You can fly to the moon for all I care!" I wiped an angry tear rolling down my cheek quickly. I was too angry to feel embarrassed.

"I…never want to see you again!" I yelled and stormed down the stairs and out of the door into the soft rain. I cried as I ran home, and almost fell on my face twice as my shoes got stuck in the mud.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - Kidnapped

Lily did come to school two nights later, but Jayden was absent. I felt miserable. Did he take '_I never want to see you again'_ literally? Surely he knew I was angry. I so much wanted to see him again, to apologize. I went to his house after school, but no one was home. Somehow the house had an abandoned feel to it now, even more than the last time I came here. I peeked in at a window and to my horror saw that it was empty. _He moved? He went away without saying goodbye!_ I've never cried so bitterly in my life before…

Dad noticed that I was not myself, but he didn't pry too much. He just squeezed my shoulder reassuringly and smiled at me. I loved him, even though we seldom had chances to chat. He somehow understood me, even when I didn't say a thing. A week passed and Jayden was still gone.

Lily weirdly couldn't remember anything. First time I heard of a vampire having amnesia… she could only recall working on one of her projects and then when Jayden freed her from a coffin in an abandoned warehouse. How he knew she was there was another mystery… She said he had looked like he had been in a fight. He ordered her to leave as quickly as possible. _He didn't even leave a message with Lily or anything! He just went…_

Not a night went by that I didn't think of Jayden, but Blade's attentions helped to ease the pain. He was always very nice to me, and seemed to care. It wasn't a month before he told me that he and his sister were leaving too. I felt like I couldn't breathe anymore. _This really sucks!_

"Why do you have to leave? I thought you'd only go next year?" I asked very near to tears. He had asked if he could see me alone in the park that morning after school. He gently stroked the side of my face with his hand.

"I have unfinished business…but we'll see each other again…soon," he said with a strange smile on his face. It wasn't the sweet and loving smile of someone who cared, but more like he was very amused by something. This unsettled me. He then leaned closer and kissed me lightly on the forehead, causing my ever questioning mind to strike blank. He murmured something and stood away. They left the next day.

I was just leaving school when my cell rang. I was surprised and excited to hear Jayden's voice. It has been four months, but it felt much longer. He said that he was in town for a few hours and wanted to see me. He asked me to meet him at the park. I didn't think it odd that he'd ask to meet me at the same place Blade asked me to meet before. I was too excited and wanted to see Jayden again. I waited ten minutes. Later it became twenty. I felt a terrible knot in my stomach. Was what I was thinking going to happen? Did he change his mind about seeing me? Then someone grabbed me and pulled something over my head. I tried to resist, but was no match for my assailant. My screams were quickly muffled. I kept quiet, trying to breathe evenly. I was carried, then thrown on the backseat of a car. I heard voices, but I didn't recognize them. They spoke in a strange language.

Later the head-cover was removed. There were two strangers with me, vampires. They said that I would be going with them and that I had to act normal at all times, or they would kill me. They kept a close eye on me, so I couldn't try anything. I was taken to a fancy hotel. We took a lift to the 8 th floor. What on earth are we doing here? How do they know me? What do they want with me? How does Jayden come into the picture?

We got to room number 15 and I was forced to enter first. Blade greeted me with a very friendly smile. He looked very different from the Blade I knew at school. His hair that was always very neatly combed back hung loose on his shoulders and he was smoking a cigar. It was funny to see a vampire smoke…well at least it won't kill him…

"See, I said that we would see each other again soon," Blade said.

I glowered at him.

He made a face.

"I just wanted to make sure you meet my men without others getting involved."

I felt stupid. In my excitement to see Jayden I hadn't told anyone where I went. My cellphone was taken from me now. I didn't understand. I'd recognize Jayden's voice anywhere…

"How did you…?"

"Technology is a wonderful thing, don't you agree?"

He pressed a button on a small device before attaching it to his throat.

"I had to make sure I'm right about you though," he said in Jayden's voice, "that I'm taking the right girl." He was glaring at the other two.

"Good thing she doesn't remember the incident. It would have been your necks on the line."

_He must be talking about Lily!_

"What's going on?" I asked. Blade wasn't the same sweet, caring person I've come to know at school. A lot like Jayden. Did they all have split personalities or something?!

"You've probably wondered if Jayden and I knew each other from somewhere…well, I'm going to tell you something about Jayden you've never known…"

My heart raced as I pushed my way pass some humans and vamps in the club. This wasn't club Night, but an unknown Italian club I didn't even know existed. I have been given an ultimatum, to kill a certain vampire who was apparently a big shot here, or Lily would disappear for good.

Blade told me that he and Jayden both worked as assassins for a vampire institution that aimed to control unruly vamps. When I had asked what I had to do with it, he said that I was the perfect weapon to fight Jaden with. I gathered that the two were rivals, even if they did work for the same institution. Blade was so different now. I hated him. I didn't understand how my killing a vampire would be bad to Jayden but I didn't have much of a choice. It was either that or Lily. Even my protest that I am no trained assassin fell on deaf ears.

I felt slutty. I had been made to dress in a very skimpy dress and high heels. My face was covered in cheap make-up. I hated myself. I made my way to where the "important people" lodged. A bodyguard wanted to block my way, but I had already caught the eye of a vamp who was sipping on his 'wine', two women sitting with him. From the description Blade gave me, it must be him… I smiled and winked at him, trying to look alluring. I was scared. I probably looked like a scared deer caught in the headlights…

"Sorry, I didn't know this area was off limit," I said sweetly to the guard, "I just wanted to see who this Clayton is everyone talks about. O, well, I'll just leave."

I was just about to walk away when the guard stopped me and said that someone wanted to see me. I was taken to the vamp with the two girls. They were obviously human. Was he drinking from them? I had no idea. He was quite good-looking... As if a vampire could be ugly…

He smiled a quite dazzling smile at me.

"I hear you wanted to meet me?" he asked sweetly and beckoned for me to sit down with him after shooing away the two girls. They obeyed at once, but I couldn't help but notice their glares as they passed me. He asked if I wanted something to drink, so I ordered a cocktail, trying to look like the type that enjoyed clubbing and drinking... He chuckled at this.

"You're still innocent," he observed, looking pleased, "that means your blood is still pure," he almost purred as he spoke. How did he know? I made some more small talk with him, trying to be as alluring as possible. I have to get him alone. I took another sip from my glass, and was feeling a little woozy. I had never been the drinking type. Finally Clayton suggested that we go somewhere more 'private'. I had difficulty focusing. _Did they spike my drink?_ I suddenly wondered. I felt a wave of panic flooding over me. I took great effort to stay awake. I had to do something, and fast.

As soon as he closed the door, I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. He chuckled, his breath against my cheek.

"Fiery, aren't we?"

He pushed me towards the bed, unzipping my dress. I tried to appear eager, reaching for his shirt, pulling it over his head. He had terrific abs... It reminded me of Jayden, well, not that I've seen him shirtless before, but I could imagine what he would look like under the black t-shirt he wore... I felt a slight pang of hurt, but ignored it. He let me down on the bed. My head was still very woozy. _Concentrate Holly!_ He was kissing my collarbone, sending shivers through me. Luckily he thought it was shivers of pleasure. I was actually afraid, afraid like hell. I entangled my one hand in his hair, while reaching for my shoe with the other. He chuckled and helped me take them off. _Damn. I wanted that!_ He continued kissing me. I was terrified. How was I going to kill this vampire?

"W…wait," I said in an attempt to slow him down.

He stopped abruptly.

"What? Are you suddenly doubting that you can please me at all, human?" he almost spat at me, "you may be right. None of you usually lasts the night. I had thought perhaps you might be different, but perhaps I was wrong…"

He wasn't pleased with me, I could tell.

"Not at all," I tried saying in an appeasing tone, "I just wanted to shift into a more comfortable position."

Actually I was trying to get closer to where my shoes were lying on the floor. Hopefully he wouldn't notice. He chuckled.

I shifted and settled down, smiling at him.

"I see. Well, are you comfortable now?"

"Yes."

He then came to me with such suddenness that I was breathless. He sunk his teeth into my neck in an almost savage way. It hurt terribly and I yelled in agony but he ignored my discomfort. His eyes were dark and almost as if out of focus. Can a vamipire be drunk on blood? I reached for my shoe. It was just out of reach. He didn't pay much attention to what I was trying to do. He just kept drinking. I could feel I was weakening very fast. I reached again, and this time my finger tips touched and then got hold of the shoe. I grabbed it, plunging it into his back with as much force as I could muster. The heels were pure silver spikes, sprayed black. My other hand also grabbed hold of it, pushing it in deeper. He gasped and stared at me with horror and hate. He got up and I quickly picked up the other shoe and plunged it into the front of his chest. I stood back several paces. I panicked. He was still standing, with terrible fury showing on his face. _He's going to kill me now. Blade probably knew the heels wouldn't do the trick. Stupid me._

My mouth was very dry. He took a step towards me, and then collapsed. As his body reached the floor it turned into dust. I was so relieved that I started crying. My head was spinning from blood loss and wooziness. I have to get out of here! I peeked out at the door after dressing myself and wiped some of the blood off my neck. The bodyguard looked at me.

"Um…I need to use the restroom," I said as innocently as I could.

He looked at my neck and grinned, then gave me directions.

I just got out at the back door when Blade's voice sounded up.

"Well done! I'm impressed! I told you she would make an excellent assassin, didn't I, Jayden?"

Everything was spinning around me. I held onto a garbage can while looking at Blade and then the person he was speaking to. My eyes didn't want to believe that it really was him, but I could never mistake those blue eyes and the long white hair.

"Jayden!" I said before crashing down into blackness.

I felt like a train had hit me when I finally woke. The bed felt different, not like mine… I slowly opened my eyes. I didn't recognize the room. Where was I? Suddenly everything that happened hit me, making me sit up hastily. My head spun again and I felt like throwing up.

"Careful, you've lost a lot of blood. You may want to take it easy for a couple of hours," Jayden's voice spoke next to me. I was startled. He was lying next to me on the bed. I looked at his glorious face, and it hurt. I still loved him, even after all this time. I felt so dirty and cheap and my neck was sore. A tear escaped before I could help it. I wiped it quickly, pretending to wipe the sleepiness from my eyes. It didn't fool him.

"Holly," he whispered. He looked very worried.

"Don't make this harder for me than it already is," I said as my voice broke. I started sobbing uncontrollably. His arms found their way around me and pulled me against his chest. He held me until I stopped crying. I felt so tired and weary.

"Shhh. You're safe now," he whispered tenderly into my ear. I wished I could stay in his arms forever, but I became aware of the fact that I was a mess and probably smelled terrible and now I've probably ruined his shirt too…

"Can I at least take a shower?" I asked trying to mask all the emotions that were wreaking havoc inside me.

"Sure, if you feel you are strong enough."

I got up slowly, smiling faintly and made my way towards the bathroom.

"I'll leave clothes for you on the bed. I'll be out for half an hour. Will that be alright?"

"Where is Blade?" I asked, suddenly anxious at the idea of being left alone, "he won't be sneaking up on me while you're gone, will he?"

"No. You're safe here. He'll not bother you."

He left before I could ask him if he killed him. It felt wonderful to have warm water wash away the cheap make-up. My neck had been treated with something. I could smell it. I felt a little more like my old self when I finally put on the clothes Jayden had left on the bed. A slim-fit jeans, white button-up shirt, socks, sneakers and underwear…everything a perfect fit. How did he know? It all still had tags on. Did he really go and buy all this stuff? I felt guilty when I looked at what it had cost. He didn't just go to the nearest Mart. These were designer clothes.

I had just pulled a brush through my damp hair when he came back. My heart jumped at first; fearing somehow that it might be Blade or Clayton, back from the dead. I was still terrified and knew what I had done would still haunt me for a long time. I killed someone…even if it was a vampire, still…

Jayden paused for a moment, as if sensing my fear.

"I brought you something for the pain. They had drugged you heavily and it will take some time for the dullness to go away completely."

He poured me a glass of water, and handed me the pills. I drank it obediently.

"Thank you," was all I said.

"You're welcome."

We just looked at each other in silence, unsure what to say to each other.

"You'd better get some more rest," Jayden finally said.

I nodded, and walked to the bed, sinking down on it. I pulled the duvet up until it reached my chin. He smiled.

"That's my girl."

"I don't always do what others tell me to do, I'm just too tired to argue," I retorted cheekily, wanting to expel the little-girl idea from his head. When I didn't hear him reply, I peeked out from underneath the duvet and it seemed like he was about to leave.

"Don't go!" I quickly said, sitting up.

"I'm just locking the door."

He did so and joined me on the bed. I didn't think. Before I knew it, I had nudged myself against him, my head resting on his chest, sighing as I breathed out, closing my eyes. His arm held me. It was bliss, smelling him, feeling him. I felt something against my hair. Was it his lips? I was too tired to look, and fell asleep.

When I woke later in the evening, I was feeling a lot better, and thus more in a mood to argue. Jayden didn't look like he slept. He was seated at the dressing table, working on his laptop. His long leather jacket hung over the armrest of a sofa, along with his shirt.

Something on the dressing table next to the laptop caught my eye. It was a knife. It was lying on a piece of cloth. Jayden probably cleaned it and left it to dry. The blade was slightly curved and shone an almost unnatural blue-silver colour. The handle was black. Whatever it was made of I couldn't tell at this distance. There was some kind of red blue on it. I would have liked to look at it closer…

I discovered that I could see Jayden better by looking in the dressing table mirror. I noticed his left arm was bandaged. I kept breathing slowly, so he shouldn't know I'm awake already. I could see part of his face and chest in the dressing table mirror. _Wow_… _is this what vampires looked like? _I thought of what I saw when I looked at myself in the mirror. No rock-hard abs for me, that's sure…though I don't think I really want that… it would only make me look like a gym freak…

He was frowning slightly, and his mouth formed a hard line. His eyes were an icy dark blue. I wonder if it changed colour according to his mood? I guess he wasn't liking whatever he was reading? I wonder who he's writing to? His superiors? I wonder what happened to Blade? Did Jayden kill him?

"Have you stared enough?" he suddenly asked, and I jumped. His blue eyes were looking straight at me in the mirror, but they didn't appear cold. In fact he seemed amused.

"Good morning to you too," I said - annoyed that he caught me out. Jayden sheathed the knife and closed his laptop.

"Well, as soon as you're ready we have to go. Your father is very worried about you."

I had already gotten out of bed, and smoothed my hair with my fingers before tying it up.

"Here, this should help dull the pain," he said, handing me a glass of water and a pill. I swallowed it quickly, and gulped down the water just to get it done and out of the way. My neck was still quite sore.

"My father? You spoke with him?"

Jayden didn't answer. I wondered what it was with him? Yesterday he was so…nice…now he's like a polar bear with a sore tooth again…He had just put his jacket on.

He was heading towards the door.

"I'm just going to pay for our room. I'll be back just now."

"Wait! Will you at least answer some questions? I've been through hell the last two days, and my mind feels like it's on the brink of insanity! Please…"

He sighed. "Very well…but I won't promise to answer everything."

"Are you an assassin?" No answer.

"Did you kill Blade?"

"No."

"How do you two know each other?" Again silence. I got more and more annoyed.

"You know, I don't care if you really are an assassin and killed hundreds of psycho vampires…what I don't get is why I got pulled into this. It's really childish, this…rivalry or whatever it is between you two…"

"It's not like that…"

"Then what is it? I got forced to kill a vampire last night…"

"A half-blood."

I didn't catch what he said at first.

"… I could have been killed, you know! I…." It finally sunk in…

"Half-blood?"

"Yes."

"But why?"

Jayden was biting his lower lip slightly, as if deciding whether or not to tell me.

"You've been told _we_ hunt unruly vampires, right?"

"Yes, that's what Blade said."

"He was lying…not unruly vampires…half-bloods."

It felt like a bucket of ice-cold water had been plunged on my head. _Oh, crap..._

"But…if that's the truth, why did he spare me?"

"Probably hoped you'd get killed while luring me into fighting him. Two birds with one stone kind-of thing. Everything is a game to him, Holly. He doesn't go for the direct approach anymore."

"If he still lives, he'll surely come after me?"

"You don't have to worry about that."

I thought for a few moments. Jayden was also an assassin, was he not?

"And you…why are you sparing me?"

He didn't answer. I felt a tight knot in my stomach. Good thing I haven't eaten breakfast yet…

Everything then went black…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Meeting Sarah

I woke up in my own bed. At first I had thought that it was all just a bad dream, but the two small holes, now somewhat healed up, on my neck proved otherwise. I realised Jayden must have given me a sleeping pill, there was no way I would just faint because I found out he hunted half-bloods. He probably knew I'd be pestering him with questions, the rascal!

I was feeling my tender skin while looking in the mirror when I noticed I was wearing a ring. It looked like a snake, head and tail touching. It had a stone in its mouth. Where did _this_ come from? I tried to take it off, but it was stuck, causing a slight burning sensation. The stone seemed to glow faintly. Was it magical? It then faded away, looking like it sunk into my skin.

My father was strangely calm as I ate something before going to school. I asked him if he saw Jayden and he said yes, but that was it. He didn't ask me to explain where I had been or volunteer what he knew. I was somewhat annoyed at this, but also relieved. Just before going I remembered of the ring.

"Dad?"

He looked up with a slight surprise. We were both still not completely used to hearing the word out loud.

"I noticed this morning that I had this ring on…"

Before I could say anything else he had risen and was at my side in an instant, studying my hand. He looked very upset.

"What is it?" I asked uncertainly.

"This is most likely a bond-ring."

"A what?"

"It means that whoever gave you this ring has claimed you as a life-mate."

I felt the blood leave my face. I sat down again.

"What am I going to do now?" I asked defeated, "I don't even know who put the ring on."

"He will come for you, eventually. You will then have to accept or fight him to death, unless he releases you."

My head snapped up.

"Are you serious? I can't fight a vampire!" I thought of Clayton. I _had _fought and defeated a vampire...well, a half-blood, but still… _Murderer,_ my mind accused me. I felt lousy. I couldn't bring myself to tell my dad about it. Perhaps Jayden already did?

"Then I suggest that you pay real good attention at school. Learn as much as you can about fighting techniques and self-defense. I'll see what other precautions we can take."

"But…I have you and Sam, don't I?"

"Yes…but we will not always be around. It may happen that he finds you somewhere alone. Then you have to be prepared. My face must have shown how I felt, because my father's face softened. He stroked the side of my face.

"I have faith in you, Holly."

School had taken a new meaning for me. I had become a very good student, studying for hours. Luckily my vampire genes helped a little when it came to sleep deprivation. I had told Lily about my unplanned trip to the Italian restaurant. I still didn't know where it was. She had sworn to keep everything secret. She helped me as much as she could and I used her as a practice 'dummy'. Many days we trained in the gym after school. I was happy to see that in time I was improving. Not a day went by that I was worried that the confrontation would be _that_ day. I suspected that the ring was either Blade's or Jayden's. The one I hated, the other I loved, but I hadn't heard or seen them since. I had once asked my dad if he knew where Jayden was. He just said no. _Very helpful…_

I relaxed a little when after another four months, still nothing has happened. All the whispers and gossip had already died down. My abilities were definitely manifesting. It was two weeks before I turn 17. Mrs Pausini told me that even for a half-blood, I was above average. Mentally I performed better than even some full blood vamps. Personally I think it was just because I was studying for hours while they cruised along. My senses were slowly improving, except my hearing. I had inherited hearing loss from my mother. I had hoped my vampire genes would sort it out. Apparently not…

It was a cold morning; it had snowed during the night. Snowfights were going on outside. I protected my head by holding my bag on my shoulder. I liked the snow. Only today, it made me sad. It reminded me of Jayden's hair. I wondered if I would ever see him again. Just then my senses told me to look up. I stopped dead in my tracks. It was Jayden! He was talking with one of the teachers outside class. Next to him stood a young woman. I felt my heart stop. She was divinely beautiful. Chestnut hair hanging to her waist and the typical vamp blue eyes. He followed her as they entered the class…

"You can't stay in there all day!" Lily was calling at the toilet's door. I had been skipping class. I felt very upset every time I thought of Jayden and the girl. I didn't want to believe it.

"Why not? My life is so over anyway," I said sulking.

"Just because Jayden showed up with a girl, doesn't mean there's something going on. I had watched them. They don't appear to be close or anything."

"Okay, okay, I'll come out," I said just to make her stop. I had already missed three classes. Lily, my faithful friend, stayed with me. I felt bad for her. She'll probably get detention as well. And be grounded by her mom again…

"You look terrible," she said when she saw me.

"I know." I splashed my face several times. Some colour returned to my cheeks.

"Better?"

Next was gym class. Lily and I changed and made our way straight to the gym. Mr Boomer lifted an eyebrow, meaning that if we had been one minute later we would be cleaning the gym after school. Time was a very serious thing around here. The others were waiting in a row. Just then Mrs Pausini walked in and spoke with Mr Boomer.

"Pssst," someone whispered. I looked and was surprised to see it's Jayden. He signaled for me to come to them. The girl was with him. I walked closer reluctantly, but also careful. I'm not going to hate this girl just because she's near him, like Luna. My mouth twitched slightly at the thought. Perhaps she will back off my case a little. There is a new rival… I quickly spotted her and she was indeed glaring at the new girl! This made me momentarily forget my own troubles and smile.

"Where have you been all day?" Jayden asked, looking a little annoyed.

"In the girls restroom," I said without blinking. Sometimes it's just easier to tell the truth. He lifted an eyebrow, but didn't ask.

"She wasn't feeling too well," Lily whispered for their benefit. I wondered if he could guess the reason. I looked at the young woman. She was even more beautiful close up. _They certainly make a beautiful couple_, my mind decided to add to my torture. I tried to smile as genuinely as I could at her.

"I wanted you to meet Sarah. Sarah, this is Holly."

"Hello," I said, praying my voice doesn't fail me. I didn't reach out my hand, knowing that it was shaking like mad.

"Hi. I've heard a lot about you," she said smiling in a friendly way. She had a beautiful smile, almost as mesmerizing as Jayden's. I smiled back faintly.

Lily was also introduced. Just then Mr Boomer called the class to attention and they left to join their class. I was surprised that they came just to say hi to me…

After school I was not so surprised to be confronted by Luna.

"Hi," she said uncertainly, but with a look of defiance.

"Hi to you too."

I wanted to go past her, but she held me back.

"Wait. I wan't to talk to you."

"What ever in the world about?" I asked rolling my eyes. She was like an open book.

"You like Cortez, don't you?"

"Yeah, so what? I have eyes too, you know. I'm not getting into the ring, thank you."

"How can you give up so easily? When it was me, you certainly didn't?"

"That's because it was you."

She bit her lip, to keep herself from insulting me. I enjoyed the agony.

"If you don't want him, won't you help _me _fight for him?"

I thought my ears had finally given up processing sounds.

"I didn't say I don't want him. I want for him to be happy. If he wants her, I will not stand in the way."

She stared at me like I have gone mad.

"You're going to die very soon in life if that's your viewpoint on things."

"I'll take my chances."

She marched away, nose in the air.

"Good luck!" I yelled, but wasn't sure if she heard. I realized that I was talking much braver than I felt.

I was walking to where my car and would have to pass one of the sports fields to get to the parking area. Sam had stopped driving me and dad said I could use the Volkswagen mini that stood in the garage. I stopped to hitch my school bag up higher on my shoulder when Mike, another boy in my class, passed me. Something strange happened. My vision blurred and then came into focus, but from a completely different angle I was facing. I saw a red cricket ball hitting Mike against the head at such a force that I could hear his skull crack. The vision ended abruptly. I saw Mike about walk across the section of field where the ball would hit him.

"Mike!" I yelled, but he didn't hear me. Gosh, he was going to die! I ran to him as fast as I could and pulled him back. The ball missed him by centimeters and bounced against a tree. He fell back on top of me.

"What the hell…" Mike said in a daze. He wasn't making any effort to get up.

"I can't breathe!" I complained.

"Get off me!"

He seemed to not hear. My bum was sore from the hard landing and he was very heavy. Others had already gathered to see what was happening. Some students where cat-calling and making comments about us making out.

"Mike! Get off me!" I yelled again.

Only now did he register that he was on top of me. He apologized and rolled over. I took a deep breath. Werewolves sure are heavy. I sat up, rubbing my elbow.

"How did you know?" he asked, "and how did you get here so fast?"

"I don't know," I replied truthfully. Was I really fast? Surely I wasn't so far away from him? Was this my power? Perhaps. Premonition? Superspeed?

I suddenly felt a blinding pain in my head and would have fallen on my face if Mike didn't hold me up. The pain subsided after about half a minute, but a feeling of tiredness overcame me. Lily came over quickly.

"Holly! I saw what happened. That was amazing! You should have seen your speed!"

I smiled weakly.

"Really?"

I really wasn't feeling well at all. I swayed and held onto Lily for support.

"Holly, are you alright?" she asked worried.

"I'm okay," I said.

"You can barely walk!"

"Sarah and I will take you home," Jayden interrupted, then walked closer and picked me up bridal style. I was surprised and confused. A blush spread over my face having him so close to me suddenly. He had already carried me several paces before I got my tongue back.

"This is really not necessary," I objected. I noticed Sarah was walking next to him and she smiled kindly to me.

"You really _are_ cute when you blush."

I was then put down on the front seat of a silver Jaguar. I objected, but neither Jayden or Sarah wanted to hear anything. I was getting very curious about the relationship between them. They didn't appear to be more than friends, just like Lily said that morning. I wasn't aware of Jayden having any family; I never asked him.

I was intensely aware of him as we drove. My heart-rate had not slowed down since he had picked me up. _Traitor!_ I thought. They could surely hear it. At my house Sarah walked me to my door. I was a little disappointed that Jayden waited in the car. He just said goodbye politely.

"Thanks. Sam will probably fetch my car later."

"No problem," Sarah said, and smiled. "I see now what Jayden meant when he said you drive him crazy."

I blinked twice and looked at her as if she spoke Chinese. _She said I was driving him crazy?_ She wouldn't be telling me this if they were together, would she?

"Really?" I asked when the look on her face had turned worried because I hadn't responded yet. The smile returned.

"Yes. You certainly are exquisite…anyway, see you tomorrow!" I wanted to ask her to say more, but I was feeling like I was on the brink of collapsing. My head was still hurting. I waved as they left.

_I drive him crazy! Whooopy! _It felt like I could rocket through the roof. My father wasn't home yet so I fell on my bed and was gone.

I fidgeted unusually as Sam drove me to school the next night. He did fetch my car, but dad didn't want to hear of me driving so soon after what had happened. He just dropped me off. I wouldn't have minded to have him around… My mind was whirling, I was constantly thinking of everything that had happened lately, trying to fit all the pieces together and convince myself I am not going insane. For goodness sake, I actually killed someone! It is a bit hard to wrap my mind around it. Well, the creep was going to suck me dry if I hadn't done something, and he seemed like the nasty sort, but still…I guess I could blame Blade. He forced me to do it, after all. I had asked my dad about this organization who hunts half-bloods, but he was as cooperative as an internet connection without airtime…he did look upset though…It was obvious that he and Jayden knew each other…Jayden and Sarah…how do they fit into the picture? Now that I think of it, they never acted like they were more than friends. I had so many questions, but too few answers… it is soooo frustrating! And I am turning 17 soon and my mom is getting married in three months time…I really need a break!

My heroic rescue was the talk at school, well not so heroic in some stories, but fact was, I was being talked about…for someone wanting to be invisible, that was a big no-no. I tried to hide away as much as possible. If someone asked me again about it, I was going to do something violent. It was raining outside. My jacket didn't offer protection very long.

"Hey!" Lily greeted cheerfully, shifting her schoolbag so that she could get her arm around my shoulders.

"Hi Lily."

"So…can you see the future or what?"

I had to count to three.

"What? No…of course not!" I said annoyed. I wasn't quite expecting that one. She was still staring at me with her I-won't-go-away look, eyebrow arched and knowing smile. I gave up and sighed. There's no breaking Lily's determination. I knew that.

"I'm not sure what it is. My father said it was probably the premonition ability. It was like I could see what was going to happen, like I was outside my body looking down. But it was also more of an intense feeling of danger lurking, almost like instinct. What I saw was only a couple of seconds before it actually happened. If I'll have more of these 'visions' or whatever they are, I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see. He also said that usually only full-bloods ever had special abilities and that my case is very unusual. The sudden pain afterwards was because I was after all, only a half-blood. My human side couldn't handle it very well."

"Oh, I see. Well, at least that won't be forever…"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, your pain will only be until you are changed."

"Changed? Oh, no…not that again, and don't you even think of trying, Lily, I swear I will…"

"Not me, silly!" Lily interrupted, laughing.

"I meant by…um…you know…whoever's life-mate you decide to become."

It meant exchanging blood. Lily and my dad had explained this to me already.

"I doubt that's going to happen."

"Why? Are you afraid? What's the worse that can happen?"

"Bond ring, remember," I said, waving my hand in front of her. Of course nothing was showing now. It had become part of my finger somehow…

"If whoever put this thing on me and ran off ever confesses, and I kicked his ass, perhaps then there's a slight hope of me considering of becoming a vampire…but that's just a maybe."

I didn't want her getting all happy and everything. She had been going on for quite a while how she would like to make a documentary of what exactly happens when someone changed. She was hoping very much that I'd play lab hamster…or rat, whatever it is.

"Go suck a duck, Leroy!" Lily was now yelling at one of the boys who were shooting paper pellets at us. He made some comment, and she just stuck her tongue out at him.

"I think Leroy likes you, Lily," I teased.

He was one of the school's weirdo's. He and his friend liked pestering girls. It was actually so lame. Lily just rolled her eyes.

"Oh, by the way, I have a new invention to show you!" Lily now announced as she dug into her bag and finally brought out a small tub with something black in it.

"What is that?"

"I call it zapper," she said grinning widely.

"Zapper? Why that?"

"Because…let me show you…" she carefully dipped an ear-bud into it.

"Do you have anything on you that you wish could be invisible?"

"How about my whole body?"

"Funny, Holly! Seriously, give me at least something!"

"Okay, here's my pen. Do you worst."

She smeared the black stuff thinly over the top part of my pen. At first nothing happened. Then it faded away, completely invisible.

"Wow! Lily, that's great! You're a genius! You can become famous, you know?"

She was beaming with pride.

"I'd rather keep it secret. Besides, I haven't tested it for side or after-affects yet."

"It is still very cool!"

We met Jayden and Sarah in the hall on our way to class. They talked with me and Lily for a while and then class started. Nothing gave away what Jayden felt. His face was carefully blank again. It irritated me immensely. I didn't understand men…

"Wow, that quiz in social studies was a blast!" Lily was saying as we entered the cafeteria later that day. It was quite challenging. We were quizzed about different ethical matters relating to werewolves and vamps. I had no trouble answering when the teacher asked me, having been a good student lately. Lily, of course, would not simply answer the question, but go into a long explanation about its origins. Some of the students would groan when the teacher asked her, but I enjoyed hearing what she had to tell. She was a very zealous student. You could call her a walking encyclopedia. I tried my luck on her about the secret organization that supposedly hunts half-bloods, and discovered that there is an organization called the Covenant, who is supposed to control unruly vamps, thus protecting vamp-kind from exposure to the human world. Nothing is known about them killing off half-bloods.

I was happy when the bell finally rang, announcing the end of another school night. I decided not to beat myself up if Jayden turns hot and cold all the time. He seems to have some major issues…poor guy… Lily and I parted since I had to get some of my stuff from my locker.

I stopped when I heard my name. I hid between the lockers. It was Jayden and Sarah talking with Leto.

"Do you realize that your involvement with her has exposed you, Jayden?" Leto was saying furiously in a hushed voice.

"So? That doesn't change a thing. If Blade wants to run back to the Covenant and tell tale, I don't care."

"Oh, you think that's the worst of it, do you? Do you realize that it could lead to the exposure of everyone? Next thing assassins will be overrunning the school."

"Stop it, Leto," Sarah was now saying, "Jayden did the right thing by helping her, she is after all a special case…"

I couldn't hear any more, because a group of students now came down the hallway making a lot of noise. I would have liked to know why Jayden helped me if it could cause so many problems for him and what did Sarah mean by 'a special case?' Surely a half-blood wouldn't matter in the big scheme of things…

Leto eventually left. I didn't want Jayden and Sarah to know I was listening in on their conversation, so I quickly moved out of the way when they started moving and went down another hallway. Why would Jayden be exposed through me? Was he only pretending to be hunting half-bloods? I wonder what has been said between Blade and him after I blacked out? It was clear that Leto was in on the thing, and Sarah too. Were they part of some sort of rebel organization working against the Covenant or what? What was their connection with my dad? I was getting a headache. I knew it's from all this thinking lately. So many questions just being juggled by my mind. I swear I was going to go insane…


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – The ring

Dad wasn't home. I chatted a bit with Sam, who wasn't very talkative, but he'd always proven to be a good listener. I always made sure he heard what I wanted my dad to know, just in case. I had a theory that he informed my dad of what I was up to. Then I read a bit after messaging Lily. Tomorrow would be Saturday, so I didn't set my alarm and fell asleep. I woke from a strange dream. I was standing in this cold room with cobbled floors and stone walls. It looked very old and smelled musty. There were torches spread sparingly on the walls. I couldn't see much through the mists swirling around. Pillars kept the ceiling up. I could smell the earth. Was I underground? What was unusual was that I was fully aware of my surroundings as if awake.

"_Holly…" _a strange voice whispered. I looked hard in the direction where I had heard the voice, but there was nothing.

"_Where am I? What do you want from me!"_ I yelled. My voice echoed. I waved my arms, trying to clear the mist from around me. I saw a flicker of light and went to it and found a corridor. The light was fading down it.

"_Wait!" _I yelled and ran after it, tripping over some rubble. I pulled a torch out of its holder and the dust coming off it made me sneeze. I followed the corridor until it led into another room, smaller than the first. It seemed empty. Where could the person have disappeared to? Then I noticed some kind of altar. Chandeliers at the head and feet of it suddenly lighted up by itself. I could now see that it wasn't an altar, but a podium with a coffin on it. Someone was lying in it. _Okay…_I would have to be careful here…wait, why am I thinking like this? This is a dream is it not?

"Hey, was it you that just came here?_" _I asked, but the person didn't move. I walked closer. He or she was lying with arms folded over the chest, covered in white robes. I halted and stared at the face. She looked exactly like me! The hair was longer, and the face pale like the vamps are, but in a way very beautiful, serene. I looked at her delicate hands and noticed that she was wearing the ring I had. It just wasn't invisible anymore. When I looked at her face again, her eyes opened... that was when I woke up. I was shivering, not just because of the dream, but I was cold as if I had been in that cold room instead of under covers on my soft bed.

I looked on the digital watch standing on the bedside table. It was only 2:45 pm. It would still be light outside. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep again. I wandered over to the curtains. I wonder what would happen if I exposed myself to sunlight so close to my 17th birthday? Why haven't I tried to find out before? All the curtains in this house were extra thick and lined and had blinds, as well as shutters on the outside. I never bothered to close the shutters, but the blinds were down and the curtains drawn shut. I pulled the one curtain aside and lifted a blind slightly so that a bit of light could stream in. Slowly I reached my hand out to it. I hesitated. _Come now Holly, why would you suddenly go up in flames? You are a half-vamp after all._ I took a deep breath and jerked it into the light. I could feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. It felt nice. I pulled the blinds open completely, letting light fill my room. I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror. Wow, I never realized how pale I've become – I seriously need to apply some self-tanner or something... perhaps I should try going out more during the day? I'm supposed to attend mom's wedding in the not so distant future. What was she going to say if I came there looking like a vampire? He-he… Doesn't seem like I'm affected by sunlight. _Cool. At least it won't matter if they have a wedding during the day. _

I went downstairs to the kitchen to find something to chew on. I didn't have to take blood, but sometimes normal food tasted terrible. It came and went. Almost like the vampire side in me was fighting my human side. It meant that sometimes I had to force food down while it tasted like cardboard because I still needed the nourishment. This was apparently one of the side-effects of being a half-blood. I was lucky now to find some leftover cold meat. I made a sandwich and poured a glass of milk. Thankfully it tasted good this time.

"Mind if I joined you?" My dad suddenly asked from the doorway.

"No, any time," I replied taking another bite.

"Having problems sleeping?" he asked, sitting down.

"Yeah…I've been having some weird dreams, you?"

"I've just came back, and heard you were awake."

I chewed in silence for a while.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"I need to know what is really going on…"

I told him about what I've heard at school. He didn't seem too concerned. Perhaps I was reading too much into things after all…

"So am I correct to say that The Covenant is an organization controlled by vampires which seeks to kill off half-bloods?"

"You could say that, though they would kill off anyone or anything they feel is a "threat" too. Jayden has his reasons for doing what he did and I am thankful to him for saving you, Holly. Perhaps it is best to leave it at that and not to involve yourself further with him to make things easier on both of you."

"Oh…"

It hurt, but I knew what my dad said was true. To distract him from talking about this further I told him about my weird dream I had. He had gone deadly quiet.

"Dad?" I asked.

He looked troubled.

"That ring…describe to me exactly what it looked like."

"Well, it was shaped like a snake, head and tail touching. It had a gem in its mouth."

"What colour?"

"Red."

"Oh no, this can't be happening."

"What? What is it?!"

He sighed sadly.

"It is not a bond-ring as I had thought. It is the ring of executioners."

"Executioners? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Let me tell you a part of our history… about twelve centuries ago there had been the ones called the ancients. They were the ones who kept order between our kind, the werewolves and humans…"

"Like the Covenant?"

"No, they were nothing like that murderous scum! The Covenant likes to believe that they receive guidance from the ancients. That is how they try to justify their horrendous slaughter of many werewolves, half-bloods and whomever they please. No, they are nothing like the ancients. Under their rule things went well for all of us. Then one day they disappeared. No one knows what exactly happened until this day. Rumor has it that they were assassinated by the same murderers that became the leades of the Covenant, but no-one dared voice it. Those who protested were quickly dealt with. Greed and envy can be a very ugly quality… The ancients…there were nine of them. Three were human, three vampires, and three werewolves. They each wore a ring with a gem which was either green, red or blue. Blue stood for judgment. Green for order. Red for justice. In all matters, sentinels were sent to examine and gather information. They were given a replica of the blue-stoned ring as sign of authorization. They served to help the ancients discover and understand things well before giving judgment. You can call them watchers if you want. Those who wore green where the ones who acted as the glue between blue and red, the ones who made sure nothing was misunderstood…negotiators."

"And the red?"

"They...execute whatever judgment was made."

"So you mean to say I'm chosen to be an executioner?"

Gosh, did this mean I'd have to go all buffy-the-vampire-slayer and chop monsters heads off?! I'm sixteen for crying out loud! It all sounded so unreal, like I was watching a movie…

"It seems that way. Of what exactly we'd still have to find out. The dream you had was to introduce you to the fact that you have awakened in your role. You will have more dreams in the days to come. They will help and guide you to fulfill your destiny."

"Destiny?"

"Yes…" he gave another sigh, "Holly, I'm a negotiator."

Well…that explained all the meetings.

"Oh…so are you supposed to tell me what to do or what?"

"No. I've been tasked to involve myself in the human-vampire-werewolf relations. So far we have done very well. McGuire High is one of the experiments that showed that peaceful co-existence is possible."

"Yeah, but there are no humans there."

"True, but that is the first step in the right direction. Vampires and werewolves can learn to control themselves and get along. There had been a time under the rule of the ancients that this was the case. You are one of four half-bloods that also successfully integrated with the others. The next step, if it is the will of the ancients, would be to adapt to mingling with humans without thinking of them as food or weaklings. Meaning they will be allowed into our school."

"Shew, that's going to be a though one," I said thinking of people like Luna. The thought of what she looked like when she charged me in gym class was quite terrifying.

"Yes, it will be, because at the same time we cannot risk humans being aware of what we really are. Not so soon. Humans are…not so…willing to adapt…they fear anything unknown and stronger than they are. It is a very delicate operation. Should we fail, it could result in humans hunting us down everywhere."

"Wow…now, if you are not the one who is going to tell me what to do, who is?"

"You'll just have to wait and see. The ancients will guide your way."

"Wow," I said again, "it is kind-of overwhelming…"

I wondered what Lily would say?

"Is this something that must be kept secret?"

"Well, you can choose to reveal this to whomever you please, but that could get the attention of the Covenant. They might send assassins after you."

My dad sighed as he said this and was rubbing his temple. He was probably thinking of the fact that Jayden was working for the Covenant in pretence. They could very well send him after me and that would expose him if he hadn't already been told on by Blade.

"Guess it'd be better to keep my mouth shut then."

Lily wouldn't tell a soul…or even those supposedly without a soul… I knew I could trust her completely. I could at least tell her.

I drank the last of my milk, trying to process all the new information.

"I was just wondering what Sarah meant with me being a special case?"

"Special case? So you've heard…"

"What aren't you telling me?"

"I did some research after hearing about your premonition experience. Like I mentioned to you before, it is very unusual for a half-blood to develop any special abilities, even after being changed by a life-mate. Jayden and Sarah…must have come to the same conclusion."

I still got the feeling my dad wasn't telling me everything, but let it slide for now.

"It is all so overwhelming… So, I'm going to turn into super-woman soon?"

My dad laughed. He had a stunning smile which again made me wonder why my mom decided to leave…

"Something like that. I am sad that such a heavy responsibility had to fall on your shoulders, Holly. It was my wish that you have an ordinary adolescence. I guess I should know by now that nothing connected to me is ordinary," he said with a wry smile.

"What do you mean?"

He got up from his chair, as if suddenly in a hurry.

"Just thinking out loud, don't worry about it. Now if you'll please excuse me. I have something urgent that I need to deal with."

I just nodded and he left.

"This is so cool!" Lily was saying when I told her about the whole ring-destiny business during lunch-break.

"Shhh, I don't want the whole school to know!"

"Oh yes, of course. Sorry."

"That's okay. I just wonder what I have to do? How long I'd have to wait?"

"You said Sarah called you the special case? Perhaps she would know something… or Jayden."

"I know, I just don't have the courage to ask. They likely don't know much more than my dad managed to find out anyway and it will reveal that I've been eavesdropping which is not good. At least it means I'm off the hook for having to fight whoever about a bond-ring."

"Your training will still do you good…"

I looked at Lily because she had suddenly become quiet.

"Oh, hi Jayden! We're having nice weather this evening, don't you think? Um…see you in Math-class Holly…"

She left before I could even think of protesting. Perhaps something to do with mister sore-tooth-polar-bear?

"Come!" he whispered urgently, and pulled me by my arm and steered me to where we'd be out of sight of the other pupils. Many of them were already heading to class, since the bell would ring in the next couple of minutes.

I stood there looking at Jayden. He just stared at me.

"If you are trying the lets-look-who-can-stare-the-longest move, I have lots of patience," I finally said.

"How can you be one of _them_?" he asked, ignoring my remark. I was startled by the fierceness of his voice and started rambling.

They way he said it hurt. Why was he being angry with me? It wasn't like I had a choice in the matter…

"Well, I don't know, let's see…I have this weird ring stuck on my finger which my dad says means I will have to kick-ass or something," I said while swinging my hand in his face, "funny things are happening to me and now I'm having these weird dreams too. Maybe I am actually going insane? By the way how do you know, I didn't tell you? I…"

"For goodness sake, woman, shut your mouth!"

I was instantly quiet.

"If I could do anything, anything to prevent this, I would, Holly…" he said holding onto my shoulders.

_Wow, he's looking sorry for me…was it such a bad thing? _

"Prevent what?"

"The task you've been chosen for…"

"Now you are scaring me!"

"I am a watcher, Holly…I know what terrible things awaits you…"

"Please just stop! I am freaked out enough already as it is."

Jayden sighed.

"And all the time I thought you'd been claimed…"

"What? Oh, you mean the ring…is that why you turned into a total jerk since you rescued me?"

He looked at me like I've been speaking alien.

"Hello, the hotel-room? You were so uptight and refused to answer my questions. I did not expect you to just tell me everything, but you could have at least tried not to act like I've suddenly fallen off the face of the earth since then. And I still haven't forgiven you for drugging me to shut me up."

"I had not known of the ring then…but I still apologize…there has been a lot going on since then…perhaps now you will understand why. Meet me after school outside the cafeteria. I need to explain some things to you."

"Okay."

He stood there, again just looking at me as if he wanted to say something more, but then eventually just turned and walked away. _I don't understand guys! _I felt like screaming it. The bell rang, and I had to run to class.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – The Covenant

After school Jayden was waiting alone for me. I wonder where Sarah went? I had a few moments to observe him while he was still unaware of my presence. He was leaning against the wall, staring at nothing. His hand flexed. The wind tossed some of his long white hair. As if suddenly sensing me, he looked up, his blue eyes meeting mine. Then he did something I didn't expect from mister-all-serious-and-no-fun, he smiled! Gosh, he had a stunning smile! Is someone perhaps behind me? I looked just in case. Nope. No one… _Perhaps I am hallucinating?_

"Hi," I said, feeling a blush creep up my cheeks.

"Thank you for coming. There is much to discuss and even more to be done. Are you ready to go?"

"I guess."

"Good. Let's get going."

We walked to his car.

"Where is Sarah?"

"She has been sent to see other executioners…she'll join us later."

I didn't realize that there were others in the same boat as me. I felt very confused. All of this stuff sounded like something from la-la land to me…

"I like to come here to think or sometimes just to be alone," Jayden explained as we stopped at a now empty parking area with a nice view of the ocean. The pale moon reflected on the water, in-between waves breaking. The windows were rolled down, so I could also hear the sea and smell the saltiness.

"How much do you know already? That way I can fill you in on what you don't know."

I told him what I've learnt from my father. He listened patiently.

"…so here I am now sitting in a car with my class-mate Jayden, who also turns out to be my watcher…"

"Your watcher?" he asked with a lifted eyebrow. I realized what I've said and blushed. Thank goodness it was still dark!

"er…you know what I mean, you are supposed to tell me what to do, isn't it?"

"Not exactly. I gather information, and watch...as you say. The ancients will give you your instructions, whether through dreams or negotiators, like your father and Sarah."

"Oh…so Sarah should tell me what to do?"

"Enough with who has to tell who already! This is not a simple get a task, complete it, collect your reward kind of thing, Holly. This is much more serious. As you've heard, the ancients seems to finally have returned. Whether or not they are going to show themselves remains to be seen. So many years have passed in which they did nothing…" I noticed Jayden sounded quite bitter when he said this, "now they put it on the shoulders of persons like you to do the dirty work..."

"Hey, what do you mean persons like me?"

"I didn't mean it in an offending way, I meant that you are still so young, so inexperienced."

"I've been training."

"I know...but that may not be enough…Holly, I've been watching the Covenant and its movements for four hundred and twenty three years now. For years they have been planning world dominion, but there were always rebel vampires who prevented this from happening completely. The Covenant is ruthless when it comes to anyone standing in their way. Many…have died. In the last two hundred years the Covenant has succeeded in brainwashing more and more vampires to believe that the world is doing them injustice, forcing them to alienate themselves from human society, having to hide what they are. They believe that vampires are the superior being, and deserved to be treated as such. They want to enslave humans, to become a controlled food source, and werewolves to act as their servants. For that reason they could never tolerate half-bloods."

"Wow…I never realized…then why did Blade not kill me in the first place if I am such an abomination?"

"Because he used you…to get to me. I was working undercover as an assassin. He somehow got suspicious, and followed me here…"

"Has he told on you to the Covenant?"

"No…not yet…we have an agreement."

"Agreement?"

"That's nothing for you to worry about," he said patting me on the head like a child.

"Hey, don't do that!"

"Sorry."

Jayden withdrew his hand.

"Why did you come here?" I asked to break the awkwardness.

"I had a dream that urged me to come here. At the time I didn't know why, but I came and watched. I now believe that it was the ancients' way of guiding me."

"If you were under cover…why did you save me? It would have been easier to just ignore Blade and avoid risking exposure."

He kept quiet. _Oh please, don't start with that again!_

"Maybe because your father is Benedict Monforte…negotiator for the ancients and once a very powerful assassin…"

I felt very hurt and disappointed. So much for hoping…WHAT?! My dad?!

"What do you mean about my dad?" I asked.

"Just what I said…I am not sure if this is my place to tell you this…since you are being pulled into this thing by the ancients I might as well. The Covenant wanted to rope him in to work for them, but he refused. They consider him an enemy and there is currently a high bounty on his head. No one has been able to assassinate him yet."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My dad was constantly having to watch his back, no wonder he looked tired at times…

"He had to make very hard decisions and push those he love the most away from him to protect them…"

Was he talking about mother and me?

"Sorry…I don't think I should say any more about this."

"Can you at least tell me how you know so much about my dad?" I asked.

"We all work under the guidance of the ancients, Holly. It is inevitable that our paths would cross and interchange on many occasions."

"So…your saving me was just because you are so in awe of my awesome dad," I said sulking.

"Perhaps it also had something to do with my getting to know you better."

My sulking face immediately shape-shifted.

"Really?" I asked before I could stop myself. I felt like an idiot…How stupid, why would a vampire who is over four hundred years old feel anything for an almost-seventeen year old girl? No wonder he was treating me like a child…

"You are a very good person, Holly. There are few with a heart still as pure as yours."

_Huh…is that it?_ I saw his hand flexing again. He's nervous.

"Jayden? Can I ask you something?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Yes?"

"I um…eh…" _Dang, how am I going to ask this without making a total fool of myself?_ I so much want him to like me more than just a 'good person'.

"…do you…"

"Don't," he suddenly interrupted, "Holly, I know what you are thinking. It…cannot happen…as one of those who have to execute judgment for the ancients you cannot allow yourself to have any emotional attachments…there must be nothing that the Covenant can use against you. Believe me, the first thing they use are the ones you love…"

Again I could sense bitterness as he said this, which made me wonder if he perhaps lost a loved one? A girlfriend? A wife? I felt like screaming and dumping myself in the ocean from embarrassment. How could I expect him to never have loved in all his years? How stupid could I be?

"Holly, it doesn't mean that I don't have…affection for you…but I am sure you realize how important the task that awaits us is? War is brewing, one that can alter the world as you know it forever. The Covenant has built a very strong force. Your father has succeeded in rallying many vampires and several werewolf clans as well. The fact that you were chosen as an executioner means that you will be one of those spear-heading the war effort."

My eyes must have looked like saucers; I doubt they could have stretched any further.

"Me? Lead? I can't do that!" I said laughing nervously.

"It is not for anyone else to say, Holly. We trust in the wisdom of the ancients. They have their reasons."

_My dad didn't make it out to be such a big thing…but then again, I think he was too shocked at the time… I am so going to die…great…_ Now going to mom's wedding seemed like a grain of sand compared to a brick, a very hard, heavy one...

"You father has asked that Sarah and I help you prepare as much as we can. Training starts tomorrow night at seven-thirty."

"What about school? Wait…I guess that's a stupid question to ask, hey? Do I need to bring anything?"

"Just yourself."

"Oh, there is something else I wanted to ask you. Why didn't my dad know I am to be an execu-thingy? He though it was a bond ring?"

"I had also thought so initially… That is part of what makes you a special case. Normally those who are "chosen" by the ancients have a certain…aura around them which makes them visible to others like them. Your aura is very weak, at times even invisible. I only noticed because I was looking closely. Your speaking of a ring seemed unlikely to be anything else but a bond ring. Also, like your dad said it is very unusual for a half-blood to develop special abilities, let alone be selected to work for the ancients."

What did he mean with that? Why did the ancients choose me? I don't know much about anything and I sure as strawberry fudge weren't ready for this!

"I guess it will be easier for you after you turned seventeen. Then your vampire legacy will have a much stronger influence on your senses. This should help you greatly in whatever task the ancients will lay on you."

"Okay…"

I didn't know what to say so I kept quiet. After a while Jayden broke the silence.

"Are you hungry?"

"I'm starving!"

"I'll get you pizza on the way home. Sounds nice?"

"Yeah!" I replied, trying to sound cheery.

Strange, one would think after learning I am to be some army captain or whatever it is, I would not be able to eat a bite...or perhaps this was an excuse so we could get going. I needed to think...

"Great!" I mumbled as I frantically tried to get my stuff together for school. I quickly pulled a brush through my tangled hair, clenching my teeth. I grabbed my grey sweatshirt on the way out. I was late, again…Tomorrow I would turn 17. I didn't feel particularly different. My training was going well, but I couldn't do anything major. No super-speed or strength. No superior sense of smell or sight. Nada… All I had were weird dreams, a silly ring I still couldn't see and Jayden seemed to be annoyed out of his cotton socks…or whatever socks he's wearing. I thought I once heard him say something about me going to get myself killed… how inspiring, right? Sarah was a bit more sympathetic…if she was thinking along the same lines at least she kept it to herself. I hated feeling helpless; I wanted to be able to fight at full strength. I knew Jayden held back majorly when we trained.

My homeroom teacher wasn't very impressed with me for being late, and handed me a piece of paper. I already knew what it meant…detention… It just keeps getting better, doesn't it? It's not my fault that the ancients chose me to fight in some war. Gosh, I'm so tired…I haven't had a decent day's sleep since forever. Juggling school and training classes had been hectic. I really think they got the wrong girl. Whoever put the ring on me must have been bonkers or needs glasses. I wish things could just go back to normal…or at least to when my greatest worry had been mom's wedding… I'll admit, the whole being a half-vamp thing is cool. I am excited and at the same time nervous about how I will change, if I change… I've read that some half-vamps die within the first week after the actual change begins. Usually somewhere around turning 17…Perhaps with me being a 'special case' and all, I'd live a bit longer? I'm pretty sure the ancients wouldn't have bothered choosing me if I was destined to kick the bucket next week, surely? And yeah, I still thought Jayden was the greatest thing since facebook was invented, but somehow having to spearhead bringing down the Covenant, currently the most dangerous organization of psycho vampires who wants to turn all humans into snacks, wasn't part of my future plans…

I sighed as I plopped down in my seat. Lily winked at me and tossed me a crumpled note when the teacher was writing something on the board.

"Hey, are you okay? You look like a zombie!"

I replied: "I'm fine. Just been a lot going on lately with training and stuff," and tossed the note back. She read it and scribbled some more.

"I understand...saving the world can't be an easy task."

There was a smiley drawn next to this, sticking out its tongue at me. It made me smile.

"I have something to show you during break."

I put the note away just in time as the teacher turned around and embarked on a long speech about how important understanding and communication is between species. This school tried very hard to get vamps and wolves to get along. And overall I think they did a good job. Not that the likes of Luna would pay attention...speaking of which...I haven't seen her at school lately? I wonder why?

In Biology class, we studied the werewolf anatomy. Mr Spruce had a life-sized model of a werewolf put on his desk, showing the bones and muscles. It was quite interesting. I learnt things I didn't know, since the only werewolf I've seen before was Luna and there is not much to tell besides that they are huge, have very sharp teeth and lots of fur. A werewolf's neck was longer than a normal wolf and set lower on the shoulders, making it look like its neck and head was one with its spine. This, Mr Spruce said, is a great asset to werewolves, as its neck is well fortified and this again protects the head. Basically the spine runs straight into the neck, then into the head like a solid iron bar.

Lily was very excited to see me during break.

"I've done it! I've finally done it!" she said almost jumping up and down.

"Done what?"

"You know my experiment I've been doing on invisibility? Before it only turned whatever it was on invisible, but the danger was that it could wipe or wash off. Now I've taken it a step further...I've worked on the formula and gave some to my hamster, Pepper, and he turned invisible for a whole day!"

"What? You just fed the stuff to your hamster?!" I asked shocked.

"Don't worry, I did my research before testing it on him. I would have taken it myself, but I was only unsure about the dosage. You know, I can't exactly afford to be invisible right now, with exams coming up...which reminds me, I am very worried about you, Holly. I don't understand the whole ancients vs the Covenant business, but I've been watching you closely the last couple of days. You are wasting away. Tell you what, after school it's you and me. We can watch a movie or even just chat if you feel like it. You need to wind down a bit."

"Thanks Lily, but I can't. Training, remember?"

"So? You said your powers hadn't manifested yet, so what difference does it make? Besides, it's your birthday tomorrow, isn't it? Surely you can be allowed a bit of fun?"

"I guess you're right."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 - Sleepover

Jayden wasn't at all happy about me putting off training that night, but he let me go. Probably didn't want me to annoy him with my inability to save the world... It is like he's become all serious and bitter again lately. I wonder what happened to the Jayden I had a slight glimpse of that night we spoke at the beach? He admitted that he had at least affection for me. I probably should have my head checked for liking a four-hundred year old guy...

Lily and I decided to watch a movie at her place. I was sleeping over, since it would be stupid for me to wander home in daylight so close to my 17th birthday. Even though I had not reacted to sunlight so far I don't want to tempt faith. Sam said that my father would not be coming home tonight, so I asked him to tell my father that I'd be at Lily's and that I would be home the following night around eight. Training would start at Nine. Yup, even weekends...

Lily's mom only agreed to the sleepover after Lily passed a whole questionnaire, to convince her mom that she is up to date with her schoolwork, that she had well above average marks, and that she would do whatever work was due for Monday first thing tonight. (That is doing your homework first thing after getting home from school on a Saturday morning! That sucks, right?)

Oh, and she had to promise that we wouldn't get up to any mischief and that there were no experimenting going on in her room, or else... I must admit her mom was a quite frightening lady. Matron at McGuire Hospital. Night shifts only. She suited the stereo type perfectly. Stern, big woman no one wants to mess with... Very unconventional profession for a vamp, and yes also unusual for vampires to not be lean and quite muscular. I wondered if too much blood make them fat? Ugh...why am I thinking about blood?! Lily told me her dad is a scientist, but that her parents are not together anymore...Strange to think that even vampires have their issues... I guess it's easy to see who Lily is taking after. Perhaps she is reminding her mom too much of her dad? Maybe that is why she's so anti-experiments. Lily had a brilliant mind. I am sure she would be able to invent things people have only dreamt of or shown in sci-fi movies. Take for example the invisibility potion, or whatever it is... Perhaps I should offer to be her lab-rat, or in this case hamster? It would be kind-of cool to be invisible for a day and sneak up on people... Hey, then I could follow old polar-bear-with-the-sore-tooth around and perhaps figure him out? Well, I guess he'd still be able to smell and hear me...So much for that plan...

We watched Mamma Mia and had some good laughs, especially at the end when Pierce Brosnan and Collin Firth were singing away in their tight little suits... I had butter flavoured popcorn and Lily had some kind of shake. At first I thought it was a strawberry milkshake. When I asked her about it, she replied that she knows I can't stand the smell of blood, so she mixed it with a whole list of ingredients I didn't know half of, and some milk. I had to remind her several times that I don't speak science. Apparently the stuff she had in there was very nutritious for vampires. She and her mom usually have some of it with milk in the mornings as 'porridge'. Although the milk doesn't have any use, it helps to get the right consistency. Water doesn't mix well with it.

"I guess I should only have it in the mornings, but it is highly addictive and too much isn't so good for my figure..."

Well, that explains some things...

"I guess I used your aversion of blood as an excuse to have more...anyway, it is Saturday morning after all. We can have our fun, right? Would you like to taste some?"

"Er...rather not..." Even if it does look like strawberry milkshake, I would rather not put my sensitive stomach to the test...

We only went to bed at 8:30 am. Even though I was very very tired from not having proper sleep since the training started, I felt happy and relaxed. I was gone the minute my head hit the pillow and it felt like barely a minute passed when the alarm clock woke us up. 7:00 pm. I got up groaning with a monster head-ache. Lily's eyes popped open and suddenly her chest started moving up and down like a human being would. Her face became a not-so-pale shade of white. Unfortunately breathing stops when the vamp rests. They only keep it up to appear normal when they are awake. During rest, the body absorbs the needed oxygen through the skin as would be the case if they didn't breathe anyway. Breathing through the mouth allows for much more oxygen to flow through the body and therefore it improves complexion (only a little bit). A vampire's body function very much still the same as a human's. The superior senses, strength and speed still can't be explained. It is a strange thing, but vampires need to sleep too. Seriously, they have to close their eyes and switch off. To stay out of the sunlight is not the only reason. The whole sleep in the coffin thing is just something thought up by someone wanting to make vampires appear like savages, and to scare kiddies from opening large boxes. Apparently they don't have dreams, or so I hear from Lily. What I've learnt so far in Bio is that vampires are the same as humans in that they need rest for their bodies to repair itself, even though this process is a lot faster. A broken leg for example, would heal completely in a matter of a few days. Cool, hey?

"Hey, happy birthday you!" she suddenly said, and brought out a small neatly wrapped up present from her drawer.

"I hope it is a bottle of Grandpa's...I have a killer headache."

"No, silly girl. It's something much better! Open it while I get you something for your headache. When I come back I want to know what you think of it!"

I opened it while she was downstairs. It turned out to be a watch... I turned it around and examined it from different angles. It appears to be a normal watch. Normal old style analogue watch, with a cool purple frame. Just then Lily came back with a glass of water and some tablets.

"Very funny, Lily. I know I've been late for school several nights, but..."

"That's not why I made it for you, silly!"

"Made it?" I had another close look at it. Wow, she's good. She could become a very good watchmaker if things in the science sector turned turnip.

"Yes. On the right side there is a small dent, do you see it?"

"Yes?"

"Put your right hand's index finger there for three seconds."

I did what she asked, and the whole screen transformed into something straight out of James Bond. It now contained a clear map, zoomed in to show me and Lily, represented by a blue and a turquoise dot, inside their house. I moved to the window and saw the turquoise dot instantaneously move at the same time.

"It's like a GPS?"

"More than that. It doesn't just tell you exactly where you are, but also detects all living and dead things. Blue is for vampires. Turquoise for half-bloods. Red for werewolves. Green for humans. Grey for those… dead."

"That's cool, Lily. Thank you. It must have taken a lot of time to make this?"

"I worked on it whenever I had a spare moment or two. I figured it may help you so you never lose your way...and here..."

She handed me a small bottle with liquid.

"It is some of the invisibility formula. You never know when it might come in handy."

"Why do I get this weird feeling that you are saying goodbye?"

"Not at all. I know that you will have to go and face things I am very happy I don't have to. I just want to make sure you come home."

"That is very touching...hey, what do you mean? If I have to go, I want you with me!"

"I know what my limitations are, Holly. I am no good at fighting."

"Me neither, for crying out loud!"

"I have full confidence in you, Holly. The ancients surely knew what they did when they chose you. Just be patient."

"I turned 17 today, and all I have to show for it is a massive headache..."

"Here, take these," she said, handing me the tablets, "and stop complaining. I will not go with you, but we'll always be in touch. I also have a watch like yours. It has a function that allows you to see where the other is and you can talk to me through it. The microphone is very sensitive, so please don't scream."

"I'll try to remember that..."

I just caught a glimpse of the watch. 7:48 pm.

"I'd better get moving!"

"They don't give you a break, do they? I'm surprised Jayden didn't come knocking on our door."

"Let's hope I do better today...It's not nice failing every time."

"Just believe in yourself, Holly."

"Thanks."

I noticed Jayden's car when I got home. Goodness, I still have 30 minutes before class! I immediately felt annoyed. I'm burning out. School, training, school, training...I somehow feel like running away, just forgetting about all of this... at least my headache is better now… Just then I felt a slight warm sensation on my finger. The ring was glowing, the red stone shining brightly. It was the first time since I 'received' it that it was visible to me. I stared at it. It was shaped like a snake, curling around my finger. It had the stone in its mouth, fangs keeping it in place. At the same time I had a weird feeling, a feeling that something was very wrong...

"What happened?" I asked under my breath after having lost my tongue for several minutes when I walked in. I'd just entered the reception hall and everything was a mess. The large mirror that hung on the west wall was shattered, like someone had been thrown into it. An expensive vase that came from Egypt was spread all over the floor. (Considering it was almost as high as me, there was a lot of it.) Even the chandelier that hung from the roof in the centre of the room was crashed onto the floor, which was very odd since they ceiling was quite high. There were several bullet holes in the walls and the floor, big ones. I picked up one of the shells. Is this silver? I saw some slashes run diagonal over one of the pillars. A werewolf? I picked up a small table that was lying on its side. There was a knife in it.

"Don't touch it," I heard Jayden say as he entered the hall from somewhere inside.

"What is going on?"

"The covenant…they somehow discovered your father's involved in the resistance movement, and sent someone the deal with him…" he said grimly as he pulled the knife out with a gloved hand and put it in a small bag. There was some blood on the blade.

"A werewolf?"

"You can tell?"

"There are obvious gashes on the pillar over there, and the place smells like sweaty dog."

There was a slight grin from Jayden.

"Your senses are improving. Perhaps there's hope amidst it all."

"Did they take him?" I asked ignoring his remark.

"As far as I can tell there is no scent of death here. They must have taken him, to question…"

"You mean to torture…" I felt sick in my stomach, "we must save him!"

"It's not that simple, Holly. They most likely took him somewhere well guarded. And…it seems like the covenant have been…enhancing their pets…we should be able to tell something from the blood on the blade."

I looked at the gash on the pillar again. Gosh, the way it is spread means its paw was about three times the size of a normal werewolf!

"You coming?" Jayden asked, on his way to leave.

"For goodness sake, my home has just been wrecked and my father taken hostage! To hell with training!" I spat, furious that he could be so narrow-minded.

"That's not why I asked," he said with such force that I immediately kept quiet. I swore I saw lightning flashing in his eyes...

"I imagine you wouldn't want to spend the night here alone," he continued after having collected himself. Gosh, this guy has major anger issues… It looked like he wanted to leave without me.

"Wait! Let my just get my stuff. I'll be quick!" I yelled running to my room to stuff what I would need in a duffle bag.

I met Jayden outside. There was somehow an eerie silence in the house now, or perhaps it's my overactive imagination?

"What about Sam?" I asked.

"He's not here."

I followed Jayden to his car.

"Where is he?"

_Why does Jayden have to be so difficult?_

"He went after your father."

"But you said it would be suicide?"

"It is suicide! That's why I didn't want to tell you in the first place."

I wanted to ask him more things, but he was clearly not in a very talkative mood.

Sarah was waiting for us when we arrived at an abandoned-looking warehouse.

"Hey, I heard what happened. Sorry."

"Thanks."

"You brought the sample?" she asked Jayden. He took out the bag with the bloody blade. An intense stench suddenly struck my nose. I felt like I was going to be sick. I held my breath in desperate attempt to not do so in front of Jayden and Sarah.

"Yes. You should have a look at this immediately," he said to her as they marched to the lab, leaving me by myself in the lounge.

That was so weird...I didn't smell this at the house. I only smelled wet dog...

I plopped down on the sofa and turned the TV on to see what is showing on the news. Nothing spectacular featured. Just then I felt a slight vibration on my wrist. A message came on my watch's screen.

"Holly, I need to speak to you, now."

"Now is not a good time. There has been some trouble at home."

"I know. I need to speak to you alone. Meet me at the park."

Jayden and Sarah was still busy in the lab. There was no way I was going to go in there. I wrote a note, saying I just quickly went to the shop to get something for dinner.

Lily said I should make sure I am not being followed, so I walked into a general store that was open until late and bought a toasted sandwich and fries at the shop so I didn't show up home later empty handed, and walked out the back entrance, making my way to the park two blocks away after changing my reversible sweater. Not that it would make much difference in the dark...

"I was just getting worried!" she said relieved.

"Just took some precautions as you suggested."

"Good. Here." She handed me a sealed envelope.

"What is this?"

"It is for you. Your bodyguard came by and said I had to give it to you alone."

"Sam?" I frowned and opened it. There was little light coming from a streetlamp far away, but somehow it was easy for me to read.

"I've gone ahead of you to find out how the base can be infiltrated. I will soon have more instructions for you. I will meet up with you later. For now stay where you are. Trust no-one."

_Huh? Base? What is going on?_

"What does it say? Wait, I think I'd rather not want to know."

"I think...it's better that way. Thank you for giving me this, Lily."

"No problem. It was kinda freaky how he just suddenly showed up outside my window. I was busy watching some scary story on TV about zombies you know...Anyway, it will be dawn soon. We'd better both get going."

"Okay, I'll keep in touch. Thanks again, Lily."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Jayden's Past

My head was once again in a spin. Sam was going to give me further instructions? What does his message mean? Infiltration of a base, sounds like military…Trust no one? Does he know something? There wasn't much I could do in the meanwhile, but wait for him to contact me again.

"We were just getting worried about you," Sarah was saying as I entered the room. I could sense that she was not too happy with me disappearing on them.

"There was a long queue and I couldn't decide what I wanted," I said, looking at Jayden fleetly and as casually as possible. His face was unreadable, as usual. He stood with his arms crossed against the kitchen counter. I couldn't help but marvel at how much like a home it was inside the warehouse. It had been built as a place for scientist to work and live, although currently there was only seemingly Sarah. I didn't want to ask too many questions.

I sat down, opening the toasted sandwich and took a bite with them both watching me. It felt so awkward...then it hit me...I spat it out. It tasted gross, and apart from that, it was cold...something that surely didn't escape vampire intuition.

"Ugh, that's horrible! Cold too. I'm never buying there again!" I said, tossing it into the kitchen bin.

"I am tired. Where can I sleep?" I asked Sarah, not wanting Jayden to pick anything up from my face.

"You can use the guestroom, second door on the left down the corridor," she said looking a bit confused. I didn't want to have to explain anything to them, and I was tired. Exhausted. I felt like I haven't slept for weeks, which was almost true.

"Thanks, goodnight," I said, and quickly made my way to the room. I felt safe when I had the door closed behind me. I dug in my duffle bag until I found my pajamas. Thankfully this room had its own bathroom, so I didn't need to ask Jayden or Sarah where it was. I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth, and headed for bed.

I tossed and turned, but eventually fell asleep with millions of thoughts milling in my head…of my dad, the mutant werewolves, the covenant, the strange letter Lily gave me from Sam?

I found myself in a cold stone room like before. Again I could smell the earth and hear water trickling somewhere, as mist swirled around me. This time I quickly grabbed a torch from a wall and made my way down the corridor I had gone down before. I reached the room where the podium with the coffin would be. I bent over to look inside, but instead of seeing myself like I had before I saw Lily's! Dressed in white, serenity on her pale face and her hands folded together. I knew she was dead.

"No!" I cried in agony. I staggered away, my legs no longer able to hold me and crashed down on the cold cobbled floor. Mists swirled around me once more.

"You must choose," I heard a voice whisper from the dark corners of the room.

"Why?" I yelled. The hall echoed my cry. "Before it had been me! Why her?"

I waited until the echoes died down. The mists swirled with energy.

"Much danger awaits..." the whispers finally said to me,"...and your choice will not be simple..."

"What choice?" I asked, but now there was only silence. "Answer me!" I yelled angrily. Why would the stupid dreams not just be straight forward?

"Holly...holly...holy..." The whispers changed, until I recognized the voice. Jayden's. I finally woke from the dark cold room and found myself on the floor in the guestroom Sarah said I could use. Jayden was crouched next to me, holding on to my shoulders.

"What happened?" I asked him wide-eyed, teeth clattering. My body was ice cold. Sarah stood at the door.

"You were having one hell of a nightmare as far as I can tell. You were screaming. Did you have a vision?"

One part of me wanted to just tell him everything, but something was warning me not to. I settled for half-truth.

"I...think I did. I can't remember much of it though. It was terribly confusing...I just know I was very afraid."

Jayden folded a blanket around me.

"At least you're fine now," Sarah was saying, "I'd be back in the lab if anyone needs me."

"You okay?" Jayden asked. I was now sitting with my back against the bed, with my knees pulled up against my chest. He was sitting next to me, as if trying to be casual and put me at ease.

"I…I don't know…I am confused…and afraid," I confessed," I want all of this to stop, these weird dreams to go away. I've only just turned 17 for crying out loud! My whole life still lies ahead of me! I don't want to be an executioner or whatever and have to go and fight monsters and probably die! I just…I just want…" even though I was fighting hard not to, I started sobbing. _Great! That is so mature of you, Holly! _I covered my face in my hands. To my surprise I felt Jayden put his arm around me, rubbing my shoulder as if trying to warm me up.

"There is nothing wrong with that," was all he said.

Later when I got a grip on myself, I gathered enough courage to look up. He looked somehow relaxed now. No frown, no bitterness, no anger. Calm. _Wow, I forgot how handsome mr-polarbear-with-the-sore-tooth was…_His long white hair was loosely tied. _I wonder if it is natural? I've never seen a vamp with white hair before, now that I think about it. Maybe he dyed it? Still, it looks great… Shew, and how young he looks for a four-hundred year old guy! I wonder if I will age slower, being a half-blood?_

"Do you think visions can foretell the future?" I asked to stop myself from just staring stupidly at him. At least I don't think he had noticed. He wasn't looking at me when I was um…examining his features…

"They can warn you of possible outcomes, but nothing is set in stone. We all have choices, which can affect how things turn out at the end."

"So I can change the vision?"

He looked at me reflectively.

"You want to?"

"Yes."

"I know how disconcerting and twisted visions can be," Jayden said and then sat in silence for a while, as if unsure whether or not he should say something more.

I glanced at him, trying not to put pressure on him. If he didn't want to tell me, fine with me I still wanted to know, very badly, though. There were so many things about him I didn't understand. His mood-swings just to name one. _Anything to help me out please!_ I just didn't want to end up looking like an excited puppy, wagging it s tail while happily staring at his master...

"It has been two hundred and seventy three days since then," he said looking at me briefly before returning his gaze to the wall opposite us. His facial expression looked strained.

"Her name was Lynnette. I called her Lyn. We were married only two years but those were the most precious of all my four centuries."

I sat in shocked silence.

"She was a half-blood, like you. She had the same way of tilting her head slightly to the right when someone spoke to her. Sometimes you even laugh the same way she did. It drives me insane!"

I still sat as if a bucket of ice cold water had just been thrown over me. I knew the guy was hundreds of years old, but hearing a teenage-looking guy tell you he'd been married and experienced death is a weird thing to experience.

"Anyway, that's not the point I was trying to make," he said with a sigh, "I was involved with the Covenant then. I knew something strange was going on, but couldn't get clarity. I started having weird dreams. At first I thought they were just nightmares, but then some of it came true. That really freaked me out. I spoke to a shrink at the covenant, and they encouraged me to develop my ability to have and understand these visions. They said the ancients gave me a gift. Now I know they used my ability for their own good. I told them whatever I saw in the hope of preventing disaster from happening. I often saw how people would die. They told me they sent agents to prevent it. I only later learnt that they never did and that these deaths happened because of them. The ancients were trying to show me the true heart of the Covenant, but I was stupid. Or maybe I was scared of facing the unknown... One night I had a vision of myself dying. I was perplexed, and afraid. I told Lyn about it, but she said that she was sure it wouldn't happen and that I should speak with the covenant. I ignored my gut feelings, because I'd been told everything would be fine..."

I glanced at Jayden again, and saw a tear run down his cheek which he didn't bother to wipe away. It was like he was completely unaware of it as his gaze was fixed solidly on the wall as he continued.

"The irony is that in a way I had died, when they killed Lynnette..."

I gasped in shock.

"They? The covenant?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Yes. She had learnt the truth, that the covenant was busy killing off everyone which they considered a weakling and abomination, all the people I saw die in my visions."

"You mean half-bloods?"

He nodded.

"They only kept me alive because I was valuable to them in the biological science development department. I had believed she died in a car accident. A truck's wheel had burst and sent it right into her car. It caught fire and exploded. I only learnt the truth four months later, when I discovered a secret file on her. It showed how they had monitored her movements and that the whole accident scene was planned."

Jayden didn't say anything for a while, so I felt I had to say something. 

"I'm so sorry, Jayden."

When he looked at me then, for a moment I could see right past his shield he always carried around him, a glimpse of someone who felt lost at sea and I wanted so much to comfort him and tell him everything would be okay. Then the next moment his features hardened to the Jayden I got to know at McGuire High, a.k.a. mr-polar-bear-with-the-sore-tooth. He seemed to only now realize that he was crying and quickly wiped his face with his sleeve.

"Learn from my mistakes, Holly. Visions can be very twisted. Don't rely on them. Whatever you saw tonight, view it as a warning, but trust your instincts foremost. That is my lesson to you."

He got up.

"I ll be in the lab with Sarah if you need me. Hopefully we'll have some answers by this evening."

I was feeling so confused and scared...I called Lily on my "watch". It kept showing the requesting signal, but no connection... I felt a cold shiver creeping up my spine. What if something really did happen to her? What if someone followed her from the park? Just then a sleepy voice answered.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" She sounded annoyed, but I was very relieved.

"Thank goodness, you're okay..." I said more to myself then to her.

"What? Is something wrong?" she now asked sounding wide awake.

"I was just worried...wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine. Are you okay?"

How did she know? 

"I...think I am...I had this freaky dream, it's just upsetting me a bit. I'll speak to you again in the evening," I said while the words in the letter rang through my head: "trust no one". I never know who might be listening in...

"Okay, I'm going back to sleep now. I suggest you do too. Chat later."

I had so much to tell her, but how do I know what is safe and what not? I don't want to put her in danger by letting her know things she shouldn't. Who can I trust? Jayden seemed to care, but I never truly know where I stand with him. Sarah? She's supposed to tell me what to do, isn't she? Or is it Sam? So far she hadn't given me any orders or anything, but she seems very interested in the bloody blade we found. How am I supposed to know what to do?

Just then I became aware that something was weird in this room... Why was my head about level with the chandelier hanging from the ceiling? I looked down. Big mistake... I was so shocked that I didn't even think to yell as I plunged down, luckily onto the bed.  
>It knocked my breath out of me, as the base protested dangerously to my landing.<br>_What on earth_... _was I_..._hovering? Flying?_ How did I do it? I tried willing myself up in the air again, but this time no success. Was this a new power coming to the surface? That would be so cool! I went to the bathroom to splash some water on my face. I drank some water too, then looked into the mirror to see if I could save my hair which no doubt would be looking like a haystack by now. There was no reflection...

_Great, this is starting to freak me out!_ Have I died? I looked under my bed, just in case my body was there. _Nope_. I didn't understand this...Jayden, Lily and the other vamps do show up in mirrors, why not me? I went back to the bathroom. I got quite a fright, when suddenly my reflection did show. Perhaps I'm going insane. _Oh, well_...I brushed my hair and tied it up. Then set off to the lab to see what Jayden and Sarah have discovered so far, as it was impossible to get back to sleep now.

I was scared, terrified of all the weird dreams, and now these changes... I wish dad was here. He'd help me understand it and feel like everything's okay.  
>I let out a yell as I suddenly walked into someone right outside the lab.<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Silver Falls

"Hey chill, it's only me!" said Leto. His clothes was damp and smeared with mud. He looked like he'd just come out of a boot-camp drill, in bad weather. Sarah and Jayden joined us from the lab.

"Any luck?"

"Yes...but you won't believe it. They've been giving the werewolves stuff to make them stronger. I managed to snitch these capsules. They call it substance D. I've been observing some of them. It seems to be like a drug. The one I snitched it from started having withdrawal symptoms about five hours later. He obviously couldn't find his capsules, and then started shouting insults and threats to his mates. A nasty fight broke out. Even the others, they seem very much on edge."

"This just confirms what we've learnt from the blood on this blade," Sarah was now saying, "the blood cells are seriously mutated, but after about three hours it started destroying itself. These capsules will be very helpful to further our investigation."  
>"Did you learn anything about my father?" I couldn't help but ask.<p>

"I've been listening in wherever I could, but I haven't had much luck. Most of the wolves were just complaining about the lousy weather. I did find out, however, that he is alive. One of them mentioned that since the captive had been brought into the base they have been made to stand guard outside all the time. I assume the captive they spoke off is your father."

I let out a sigh of relieve. At least I have hope that he still lives.

"Since we now know where they are keeping him we need to formulate a plan of some sort," I said to no one in particular.

"Perhaps patience will serve us well in the current circumstances," Sarah was saying, "we need to know for sure what we are up against before we valiantly storm the lair."

She was somehow annoying me. She seemed too calm about all this.

"I'm going to make myself some coffee. Want some?" I asked Jayden and Leto, even though I knew they wouldn't have.

I just needed an excuse to get away from Sarah and have a bit of time to think. What was that saying I once read...something about a house that is divided against itself cannot stand...

I was sipping coffee while watching TV. The news was on. Jayden and Leto were arguing about which would be the best way to infiltrate the base.

Sarah had disappeared into the lab again after her speech about 'patience and all will be well'. For goodness sake, my dad's life is at stake here!

She looked more like a scientist to me than someone who is supposed to tell me what to do...perhaps she isn't my negotiator after all? Then who the hell is? I guess I was freaking out a bit. I thought about the letter I had, and the weird dream or vision, whatever it was... I knew one thing, I wanted to rescue my dad, and was not prepared to lose any of my friends in the process...

A house that is divided...

The covenant was using werewolves. Surely they can't be willing to be the vampires 'pets'. There must be something about this substance D they are getting. The stuff looks yucky in colour, almost like when you mix all the main colours together when painting.

I became aware of my surroundings again as Jayden sat down on the couch next to me, and Leto kept standing on my other side, humming a reggae tune.

"Turn up the volume, looks like there's trouble..." Leto suddenly said.

"...tragedy hit last night as what was meant to be a festive night for some high-school students of Silver Falls, turned out to be a massacre... The shocking scene that showed on the screen was like something from a horror film. Rows of body bags were lined up amidst the debris.

I felt the blood leave my face. I couldn't breathe...

"Are you okay?" Jayden asked sensing something was wrong.

I bent over so that my head was between my knees.

"Holly?"

"I'll live..." I replied, feeling like when you've been on a roller coaster for three hours.

"...police and local nature preservation officials are investigating the matter as evidence shows that the teens might have been attacked by large animals, possibly bears. A spokesperson of the nature preservation confederation stated yesterday that the few bears that are left in the forests in this district are not known for hostility against humans, and usually kept to the mountain regions as there are several rivers abundant in fish. The spokesperson also advised the people of Silver Falls to stay indoors at night and to contact them or the police if anything suspicious is noticed..."

Just then I had to run for the bathroom. This was sooo embarrassing... After my body made sure it is completely turned inside out, I started feeling slightly better. I was reminded that in fact I had not eaten dinner since I tossed the cold sandwich away. Leto and Jayden looked worried when I rejoined them in the lounge.

"Sorry about that..." I said while flopping down on the couch again, trying to look like nothing just happened. As if worrying about my dad wasn't enough, now I have mom and Jessica to worry about too...great...

"You okay, girl?" Leto asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"I think so...it just feels like the Covenant is on a personal quest to make my life hell. First my dad...and now my hometown..."

Leto said something in a language I didn't understand.

"You came from Silver Falls?" Jayden asked, as surprised as Leto.

"Yes. My mother still lives there, and...OMG...Jessica!" I quickly pulled out my cell phone and speed-dialed her number.

A voice recording informed me that the number was currently out of reach. I speed-dialed mom. The same thing happened.

"Why isn't anyone answering?" I yelled as I frustrated tried again, pacing up and down.

"Chill girl, the telephone lines are down because of the storm that hit last night. Fried some main line. I had no reception either while I was there," Leto's voice chimed up.

"You where there?" I asked as if I had just been told aliens invaded earth, and was waiting at my house for a welcoming party.

"Yes...you didn't know?" he asked slowly, looking questioningly at Jayden. Wow, so much for trust…

"The Covenant has a base not far outside Silver Falls," Jayden now told me matter-of-factly.

"Actually more of an old house with very high walls around it," Leto added.

"You mean the old manor?" I asked. Everyone in town knew of the manor. Rumors had it that some foreigner bought it and then sealed it off so that no-one could enter the premises without permission. They never came to town. Sometimes kids would say they saw a black car with tinted windows come out the huge iron gates. The walls were much too high to climb over, let alone see what is going on in the yard. There was a little security cubicle at the gate. Apparently the man that worked there was very unfriendly and some said he gave them the creeps... Now it made perfect sense... I just wonder if my mom knows we had been living with a madhouse full of power-crazy vampires on our doorstep...

I felt another chill run down my spine, thinking of the times Jessica and I went walking in the field near the old house. There was a lovely river with pools nice to swim in. One day we came to an old pipe, wide enough for a human to crawl in. It was overgrown and barely visible…

"_That's it!_" I proclaimed," I think I might know of a way in!"

Leto leaned against the kitchen counter.

"From what I saw there are only two ways in," he said, "the front and the back. Both are guarded by over-sized puppies. "

"It's a tunnel, more like a pipe. Maybe a sewerage pipe or something, I don't know. My friend and I discovered it one day when walking down the river. I think it leads to the mansion. I should be able to find it."

"That sounds like a plan…."

My legs were still numb from the flight back to Silver Falls. There was quite a bit of turbulence because a storm was still raging. It was actually very unusual weather for this time of year. I was just so glad when we could finally get off the plane. We arranged that Leto meet us at the mansion later on as he had other things he wanted to take care of as well. Jayden and I made our way to my mom's house in a hired car.

"You okay?" Jayden asked when we pulled up at the old house.

It was still raining hard, but I could see there were some light in one of the rooms. Perhaps mom lit candles? I only now noticed I was gripping the seat so tightly that my hands started cramping. I let go quickly.

"I think so, I just hope they are okay. Lets go."

I knocked on the front door, but no one answered. I tried again, then went around to the back door which I knew was seldom locked. It had a safety gate with a doggie-opening so that Stardust could go out whenever it needed to dig a hole. (Yes I know it sounds dumb, but I was only 4 when we got the poodle and I was in love with everything pink and puffy, all that girly stuff…yuk…) The gate was locked, so I called inside, hoping to get some reaction. Jayden tapped me and signaled that I move aside. Then he effortlessly took the gate off as if it was a curtain being lifted off a railing… Some plaster broke off and crumbled. _Cool…I can't wait until I have my vamp powers!_ We entered the kitchen, which was in disarray… broken glass and kitchen utensils were scattered on the floor, and red were smeared on the floor and the kitchen cupboards…I suddenly felt very sick…

Jayden touched my shoulder reassuringly.

"It is not blood," he said softly.

Closer inspection revealed it was a tomato sauce bottle that created the mess. I guess I was just freaked out…but still, where was mom?

"Mom!" I called as loud as I could. From somewhere inside I heard a faint reply. It came from the bathroom. I only now heard that the shower was running. Jayden nodded to me and went to the lounge to wait there. The bathroom door wasn't closed completely.

"Mom?" I asked.

"Is that you sweetheart?" she asked surprised and the shower stopped.

"Yes, it's me. I came to see if you're okay."

"What a surprise! Let me just dry Stardust off. Perhaps you could lend me a hand?"

I pushed the door open to reveal a very unhappy and wet Stardust. I handed her an old towel that was lying on the floor. I could smell tomato sauce and shampoo.

"What happened?"

"Oh, you wouldn't believe it. The neighbour's ginger cat got into the kitchen again, and Stardust was just going mad. The poor thing ran all over the kitchen, and knocked almost everything off the table. Hopefully that will teach the naughty cat to come in here!"

Mom still sometimes spoke to me like I was an eight year old… Stardust was put away in my old room before she came with me to the lounge.

"Honey, now how did you get here? Did your dad bring you?" she asked, and at the same time caught sight of Jayden sitting on a sofa.

"Oh, my…" and leaning closer to me, " you brought your boyfriend home? He's SO handsome!"

"Mom! It's not like that!" I quickly whispered back, blushing furiously. Jayden pretended to not have heard her remark.

"Good to meet you, Mrs…"

"Call me Anne. Excuse me if I don't shake your hand, I am still wet from washing the dog. Let me just go and change quickly, then you can tell me what brought this surprise?" she said looking from Jayden to me with a glint in her eye. _All the planning for her wedding must have gone to her head…_

"It seems like I have forgotten to lock the gate again. Paul has been complaining to me about it…"

"Um…it was locked… go and change so we can talk."

I learned from mom that Jessica was currently being treated at hospital for shock. No harm had come to her, which was a great relief. I knew we didn't have much time, so I decided I would go see her after our mission, if there was an after… Mom was very upset about dad being kidnapped, and even more because I was going on what she called a suicide mission, which it could very well be. I tried calming her a bit by telling her about all my training and how my senses are improving. Good to know she still feels something for my dad. I wish she wasn't going to marry Paul, perhaps if they had more time…

We parked a long way from the mansion so it wouldn't look suspicious. Jayden then followed me to the place where I explained to Leto the pipe would be. He detached himself from a nearby tree as soon as we arrived. It was still raining, so by the time we got there our clothes were soaked.

"It's about time you two showed up," he said, wiping a wet braid out of his face, "I've lost contact with Bryan. He went in about an hour ago. The pipe splits into three tunnels. I told him to take the middle one. He took the left one. Never listens to me, tsk, tsk…"

It was decided that Leto and I would take the middle and Jared the right. Leto was already disappearing down the dark tunnel. A thought suddenly struck me, what if this was the last time I would see Jayden? Anything could happen in there…

"Jayden!"

"Yes…?"

Before he could say anything else, I gave him a quick kiss on the mouth, then blushed like an idiot. Thank goodness it is dark… I suddenly had a mouth full of teeth. Great._ Um…good luck… _I said, then quickly chased after Leto, my cheeks burning like fire. It felt so good…


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – The Mansion

"Ew, gross!" I couldn't help saying when I stepped into something soft and squishy, and realized even though it was pitch black dark, I could see better now. My vampire sight was improving. Leto didn't have to lead me by the hand anymore. He quickly waved to me to keep silent. He stood there for what seemed like ages, with his head tilted upward.

"Werewolf," he whispered, "it's gone now. Let's keep moving."

I bet he was still upset about getting his dreadlocks wet while Jared and I had tea at mom's. Well, _I_ had tea at least. She did offer Jayden as well, even though she knew he was a vampire. She insisted on him having one of her choc-chip cookies, which he then reluctantly nibbled on and tossed to Stardust when my mom didn't see. Come on, we had to explain to her what was going on, right?

We walked further down the pipe, as quietly as possible, until we came to a ladder leading up to a trapdoor. _We're saved! Jippeee! _I thought. It was probably going to take weeks of washing to get the smell out of my clothes, and I bought this shirt only last week… Luckily this pipe wasn't a sewer pipe, but it didn't smell like sunshine and roses either.

Leto tilted his head again, listening. Then he shoved the trapdoor hard upwards, breaking the lock and hinges that was on it. We both kept our breath, expecting someone to have heard, but no one came. It led into what looked like a courtyard. We followed a corridor from it, and then had to hide because someone, or rather two someones, were coming. Leto hid behind a pillar, and I quickly ducked behind a big vase. Two vampires dressed in long black garments passed by, stopping right next to the vase I was hiding behind. _Great…why always me?_ I thought, trying not to giggle. I simply could not take the whole dress-in-long-black-garments thing seriously. It's not even Halloween! Besides, the one had big round glasses on, and looked very young, looking like a student from Harry Potter… _hey! Now there is an interesting idea for a movie! Harry Potter in the war of the vampires and werewolves! _Which reminds me…I am supposed to execute justice or whatever, which suddenly killed the fun…

"Do you smell something?" glasses asked the other vamp.

"I only smell the damn werewolves. Why we have to have all of these dogs around is beyond me," the other vamp replied sneeringly.

Glasses straightened his back a little and cleared his throat.

"The prophecy said an outsider would challenge our Lord to the ancient artifact. It has to be protected at all costs. You would do well to…"

"I know very well what the prophecy says!" the other vamp suddenly fumed, " that this one will be no ordinary vampire, but one blessed by the ancients themselves with great abilities…if this …being is blessed by the ancients, why are we resisting?"

"You would have known this, had you actually attended the meeting!" glasses sighed, "Because the ancient ones have lost touch with our world, and are striving towards something that can never be. Vampires and dogs are not meant to be equals, let alone the dull-minded humans! That is just the natural hierarchy of things. We just happen to be on top of the list, if you get my meaning…"

Something made them keep silent suddenly. Glasses waited while the other vamp walked over to where Leto was hiding. My heart was racing. What if he discovers Leto? We'll have to fight them! Am I ready to take on a vampire? The vamp then looked around the pillar, and I stopped breathing.

"What?" glasses asked.

"Nothing, looks like some plaster came off the wall again."

He joined glasses again. They still hadn't moved on. My legs had gone numb from crouching behind the vase, and I think something just crawled over my hand… As much I wanted them gone, they have said so much that I needed to hear.

"That still doesn't explain why we have all the mutts around," the vamp asked glasses.

" I was just coming to that. As you no doubt observed, the werewolves we have here are different from your ordinary wolf. Thanks to our scientists we developed substance D, a chemical that is highly addictive to them and alters them physically, making them much stronger."

"Why would the wolves want to side with us? I don't trust them."

"Trust has nothing to do with it. Control. We have substance D, they need it to keep them going. They do what we want them to, we provide them their daily dose."

"I think Lord Magnus has it wrong."

"Shhh! If anyone hears you…"

"Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut, but after tonight I'm leaving this place."

Their voices trailed off as they disappeared around the corner.

I looked for Leto behind the pillar, but he wasn't there. "Leto?" I whispered.

"Up here."

He was clinging to the ceiling, hidden in the shadows. How he could hold on for so long without making a sound was marvel. He dropped soundlessly to his feet.

"I wonder what this artifact is that they are protecting?" I asked him.

"It is the stake of truth. It is said that if it is touched, one would see the ancients themselves and be asked one question. If answered truthfully, it would grant you a single request of your choice."

"And Mr Bad Vamp is protecting it because he doesn't want anyone else to have a go?"

"It is much more serious that that girl! Just think! If you could ask for anything in the world what would it be?"

"I didn't think of it that way… If this Lord Magnus wants vampires to dominate the world so much, why hasn't he just asked for it?"

"I don't know. Maybe he didn't answer truthfully, or he wasn't marked. Not just any vampire can take the stake and keep living…er…being undead."

"What!" _Now he tells me! _

I am seriously hoping I am not the one who has to challenge this lord whatever, and that the real 'outsider' shows up soon… I remembered my dreams. Was I special? I didn't feel different or anything… Sarah told me that my experiencing different powers at random was only a natural occurrence, but this was usually the case with newborn vampires, not half-bloods. Eventually the vamp would settle down (or die if the body could not cope with the crossover) and sometimes have a special ability if blessed by the ancients. This did not happen every time, though…

"It will be better if we split up," Leto whispered to me, "I am going to follow those two and see if I can learn anything about where they are keeping your father."

"But…" I protested, but he was already gone. _Creepy…_

It must have been at least an hour, and I seemed to be going in circles. _Great…_ The whole place looked the same, boring corridors and courtyards with pillars and cobble floors. Pots with half-dead plants attempted to lighten the place up a bit. Luckily I had not come across more vampires or werewolves. The place is eerily quiet. Too quiet. _Ooh, a fountain!_ I thought dryly as I walked into another courtyard. Most of the doors I tried so far had been locked.

I was surprised to find the water in the fountain wasn't too green and even had little fishes in it. They huddled together like terrified mice, all of them trying to fit underneath the single lily pad in the whole fountain. I tried another passageway that led from the courtyard. _Where are you dad?_ I said softly to myself. _I hope he's okay._

Suddenly a thought struck me. Of course, Lily's watch! Why haven't I thought of it before! It would have saved me many wrong turns. I pressed the special button and abracadabra! I had radar of everything up to a range of 15 meters around me. _Cool!_

I had to remind me that sounds carry in the corridors like this one and according to my watch there's a red dot just on the other side of this wall… Oh my gosh! I can't remember what the colours mean…red…is that vampire of werewolf? I messaged Lily, but got no response. Weird, her signal is cut off or is it mine that is blocked? _That's just great…_ I looked at the radar again. The red dot didn't seem to move. It looked like it was stuck in the corner? Something was tying it to the wall. Dad! Could it be him? Three blue dots suddenly came on screen, moving my way in a hurry. I could hear footsteps. I tried the door as quietly as I could and surprisingly it wasn't locked. _Thank you!_ I said soundlessly to whomever was listening to my prayer.

I stood silently, listening to the footsteps passing and continue down the passage. I breathed out slowly as I realized I was safe for now…the room was dark, and I could hear…breathing. Heavy breathing like someone who is in pain or dying.

"Dad?" I whispered. It smelled like wet dog in here…at least I now know what the red dots mean, but that also means I did not find dad like I had hoped… My eyes adjusted so I could make out a humongous figure in the corner. It growled.

"Oh, cr…!" I was just about to dash for the door when it spoke.

"H…olly?"

Hey, I recognize that voice from somewhere... I turned on a light. I have never seen a werewolf so big. Imagine what an army of these can do… a shiver ran down my spine. Thank goodness it was chained to the wall.

"Luna? Is that you?"

"Stop staring, bloodsucker!" she hissed at me, then grumbled some things I couldn't make out.

"Had I not been chained up I would…" she said pulling at her chains. Very, very thick chains with the biggest locks I've ever seen. She had a wild, somehow desperate look in her eyes and foam around the mouth. _Oh, my goodness…did she have rabies?_

"This is not exactly helping you," I said leaning against the wall, now reluctant to free her. Why should I? So she can tear my head off? Sheez, this is the first time I see a dosed-up werewolf close-up. Her head has bigger than half my body! Her paws and legs were very thick and muscular. I could imagine what damage one swipe could do, even to a vampire. I shivered, again.

"I am not talking about you!" she growled, "I don't like you, but you haven't given me enough reason to want you dead, yet."

"Oh, thanks," I said sarcastically.

"They took us without asking, injecting us with poison, herding us like cattle…treating us like….dogs! Like worthless vermin! I hate them!"

I could see Luna was working herself into a rage fit. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. This is not the time to solve personal vendettas.

"I will get you out," I said, walking closer cautiously.

"No!" she growled. I took two steps back.

"I have not had my dosage for two days. I cannot control myself. I…will kill you."

She was breathing heavily again.

"Why are you chained up here?"

"You should know…by now…that I do not take orders from others…they didn't like it…"

"Where can I get substance D for you?" I asked.

"You…know?" she asked through clenched teeth. She must be in lots of pain…

"Yes, I and others are here to stop them. They've got my dad too."

"Don't waste…time on me. You need to get to the Sacred chamber fast. They don't only have your father…Lily too..."

"Lily?" I asked confused, "what is she doing here?"

"They had thought your father was one of the marked…it's actually Lily. A redhead brought her in…"

"Sarah!" I hissed. So she was working along with them all this time? My gut feeling wasn't wrong after all…

"What do you mean with 'marked'?"

"I don't know who she is or what exactly the whole stupid thing is about! Just get to the chamber. Something bad is going to happen. Stop them, kill them, do whatever it takes…make them pay!"

Luna gasped, and struggled for self control. I couldn't decide what I should do.

"Go!" she yelled at me with such ferocity that I was out of the room and down the corridor in a blink of an eye, but not before I tossed my swiss army knife to her. She could open the lock on her chains easily if she used a little of her werewolf power on the keyhole…

I quickly learned that the werewolves were stationed outside the mansion, patrolling the grounds like guard dogs. Inside there was only the occasional vamps. They all seemed distracted. I followed one, hoping to find out where this 'sacred chamber' is. She met another vampire, a man.

"Do you think Lord Magnus' plan will work? Have they started?" she asked him.

"Go to the chamber and see for yourself," he replied annoyed.

"I first have to take this to the prisoner," she said.

Prisoner! That must be my dad! Unless she meant Luna…but she would be going in the wrong direction then…

The man nodded to the woman and walked away. I followed in the same direction as the woman went as soon as the man left. I almost missed seeing her enter through a secret doorway that opened by pushing one of the stones on the wall. I waited a couple of minutes, then pressed the same stone. The door, or rather wall, slowly swung open. It looked like a shortcut that led to the sacred chamber…

I suddenly had the feeling of déjà vu, the stone walls and the musty smell seemed very familiar to me… there was a single torch on the wall that was lit. It was actually odd since vampires don't need light to see in the dark… The passage went two ways from here and I wasn't sure which way to go. Left or right? I closed my eyes, racking my brain for any clue. Just then I felt a very slight cool breeze on my face. It came from the left. With that my mind was made up and I walked as noiselessly as I could down the dark passage. I was quite pleased to find I could see very well in the dark now, I could even make out mice running as they heard me approach. The passage came to a flight of stairs that wound up. I realized that it must be some sort of tower. Was that were they kept my dad I wondered? I was just about to ascend the stairs when I heard a yell and the noise of someone falling down the stairs very fast. I flattened myself against the wall just in time to avoid being taken out by who I now discovered was the woman from before. As expected falling down a flight of stairs was not enough to kill a vampire. She coughed and her eyes narrowed when she saw me. I stared at her dumbfounded; what was going on?

"Who are you?" she asked, but the next moment her neck was snapped by a vampire who showed up with such speed that he was already next to her before I realized. I instinctively backed away and the vampire looked up.

"Dad…?!"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – Kicking Butt

I was shocked and relieved at the same time. His clothes was torn and dirty, obviously from his fight before with the werewolf in our house and just now. His hair was disheveled and his expression when he first looked at me was the scariest I've ever seen. It was the look of a predator who would not hesitate to kill. It quickly morphed into one of surprise and then relief and worry.

"Holly! What are you…never mind, I should have known you would…"

Just then we hear a faint click and both looked at the woman who was supposed to be dead. She had something in her hand, some sort of device. And she had just pressed the button…

My dad sighed and then grabbed me by the hand.

"Come, we don't have much time!"

I couldn't protest. Apart from his grip being like steel, I had to concentrate on keeping up with him. Surprisingly I found that it wasn't that difficult, even though the passage was dark and the torches that lit up the passage every couple of meters flew by. When we reached the place where I first entered the passageway he pulled the torch and the wall opened. He pulled me and we practically flew through the door as an explosion went off, showering stones and rubble over our heads. The sound was ear-splittingly loud, and my hearing was defective. I could just imagine what it sounded like to my dad…

"What in hell?" I asked sitting up, dazed.

"Language, young lady," my dad said as he dusted himself lightly before pulling me up.

"Did the whole place just blow up or what?"

"No, just the tower and the passageways, it was meant to kill me should I try to escape. Luckily for me you were the distraction I needed."

"Oh…but then everyone else must have heard it too right?"

"Yes, that is why we must keep moving. Your…friend is in trouble."

"I heard about Lily."

"Really?" he asked with a lifted eyebrow. Just then some vampires appeared out of nowhere.

"Damn, he's still alive!" one said to the other three.

"I'll call for backup!" a woman said and then disappeared. The remaining three surrounded us.

I had never been this scared in my life. I would fight and perhaps kill a vampire…well, I already killed a half-blood, but this is different. These vampires are trained killers, not drunkards. I felt a little proud that my dad had so much faith in me, but at the same time wanted to scream and run.

"So, this is the infamous Monforte and his bratty offspring," a big-built guy with tattoos all over his arms said. There was also a thin guy with long black hair with him - clearly the quiet type. The third person was a woman with short blonde hair. She was petite, making me think of Tinkerbelle.

My dad and I had our backs pressed against each other. I felt him pressing something into my back and quietly took it. It was a dagger. He didn't respond to the remark which just irritated the guy.

"Too good to talk to us are you? Don't worry, I'll teach you a lesson. I will have you beg for mercy!"

"I'll take on the girl, you two can have fun with him," Tinkerbelle said as she casually walked closer to me.

Then things happened fast. Before I knew it I was lying on the floor. I doubted the 'real' Tinkerbelle could kick like that… I struggled to my feet, trying to get my breath back. My dad was fighting the two men at the same time. It was like watching a martial arts movie with my dad being the leading actor. I didn't have much time to marvel at how cool my dad was because Tinkerbelle yanked me by my right arm sending me flying into the other wall. It hurt a lot, like every bone in my body was breaking but somehow I was still okay. Was that what it felt like to be a vampire?

"You're holding out well for a half-blood" she said, picking up the dagger that I had dropped when she yanked me. I knew I was in big trouble…think Holly think! Just then an idea struck me…I wonder if it will work… I had the little bottle in my pocket. Amazingly it hadn't broken with me being thrown around like a ragdoll. Tinkerbelle seemed amused.

"What…do you need to take tablets for all your aches and pains now?"

I quickly twisted the top off and swigged down the bottle. It tasted vile…

"Are you done taking your medicine now?" she asked mockingly as I coughed.

"I must say I'm disappointed, I expected more from the daughter of the most feared assassin in the underworld."

In this time my dad managed to somehow get rid of one of the men, I couldn't see him anywhere. Shoot, it seemed like the invisibility formula is not working, I would have to try something else…

"Actually, I was just warming up," I finally said to Tinkerbelle.

"Good, then show me what you've got."

She threw the dagger at me. It was the strangest thing, time suddenly slowed down and everything moved in slow motion like you see in those Matrix movies. I walked to where the dagger was still slowly moving towards me and turned it around. It stayed suspended in the air and was now slowly creeping back towards Tinkerbelle who looked like she was frozen. I looked over at my dad and saw him and the tattooed vampire frozen as well, my dad had his leg up and it was about to kick the vampire right on the jaw. I also saw that the thin vampire somehow made a come-back and was about to sink a dagger into my dad's back. I looked around and saw a medium sized flower pot which was oddly light as I picked it up. I then hurled it straight at the thin vampire's head. Then there was a 'swoop' noise and it felt like when you suddenly get woken up from a dream. I heard a woman scream and at the same time the sound of terracotta breaking along with a sickening cracking sound. I looked just in time to see the thin vampire's body turn to dust as he fell. The flower pot pieces laid scattered on the floor. I must have tossed that harder than I thought… My dad and Tattooed vamp was still tapping it out on the dance floor so I quickly looked back at Tinkerbelle.

The dagger was lodged in her chest and she stared at me with wide eyes. She was looking at the broken flower pot and back at me.

"How did you…?"

I knew the dagger alone wasn't enough to kill a vampire. You either have to take the body apart like taking off the head or burn it. It had to mean that the flower pot hit with such force that… I felt sick thinking about it. I seemed to have become super fast and strong…

"How dare you!" the woman shouted at me angrily and lunged at me with the dagger she had pulled out of her chest. I quickly stepped to the side and she crashed into a pillar, almost taking the pillar out completely. She was super angry. Perhaps the thin dude was her lover or something? She got up with an angry yell and swung around, but then had a confused expression on her face.

"Where are you?!"

What? I'm standing right here… I realized she couldn't see me. It finally worked! I silently thanked Lily. I now felt braver and ran around the area, picking anything up that could move and hurled it at her. Her movements were sluggish and she couldn't dodge all of them. There was quite a bit of blood on her shirt which means she needed to feed to sustain her energy. I didn't stay still at one place since she would lunge herself towards the spot the objects were thrown from. Eventually she sank to her knees.

"Fine, you win!" she said exasperated. I stopped throwing things at her. She looked very pathetic and I started feeling sorry for her. What if the other dude was her lover? How would I have felt if someone killed Jayden? Could I blame her for being angry?

"We only did what we were ordered to do you know," she said looking straight ahead. She was breathing heavily. Was she busy dying?

"We don't have a choice. We either obey or we get killed. Is that all there is? Death?"

She was crying. I felt terrible. I slowly walked closer. What was I supposed to do? I can't kill her like this… I couldn't see my dad and the other vampire, but I could hear noise. They must still be fighting. I was glad that I didn't have to fight the big tattooed dude…yet…

"Please end it quickly," she sobbed.

"I…I can't kill you," I finally said. The next moment she had her hands around my neck and was pushing me against a wall.

"Stupid girl! I was waiting for you to squeak so I could get you!"

Her face had a crazy look. Was I going to die? I struggled, but couldn't get loose. I could feel my consciousness slowly waning. Where was my super strength now?!

"I am going to do this slowly so I can watch you suffer!"

I tried to protest, but could barely breathe let alone say anything. The next moment her eyes widened and her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Simultaneously her grip around my throat loosened as her head slid off her shoulders and fell to the ground. Her whole body turned to dust moments later. My dad stood behind her with a katana in his hand.

"Holly?" he said unsurely.

I coughed.

"I'm here! I used an invisibility potion Lily made."

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No…I'm okay. We need to get going! Earlier I heard some people talk about a chamber. That is where they have Lily. Do you know where it is?"

"Yes… Here, take my hand so I can know where you are."

I took his hand and we ran. Eventually we entered another secret passage.

"The chamber is at the end of this passage. There is another way in as well, I suggest we split up. Your being invisible may be advantageous."

My dad disappeared and I continued in the direction he had pointed me to go.

Yup…vampire central. I snuck in as quietly as I could and had to be careful not to bump into anyone. The room had a dome shape to it and no seating. Everyone was standing, and the lighting was bad. I kept to the wall. _I wonder where Jayden and Leto is? And Lily?_

Everyone now quieted down as a man spoke who was standing in the centre, next to an altar-like slab.

"Brothers and sisters," he started, "today marks the beginning of a new era. The time of dominion of mankind is coming to an end. The time of vampires having to hide who and what they are will now be a thing of the past. Now we will rise and be what we were destined to be!"

He coughed, and it looked like he was struggling to breathe a bit. Perhaps all the excitement? He looked a bit nutty to me…

It was dead silent in the dome. I felt my hand burn slightly, but just rubbed it without paying much attention to it.

"A marked one has been found, thanks to the effort and sacrifice of some of our finest…"

My blood ran cold when I looked at who he was referring to. Sarah was standing there, and next to her…Jayden! _I think I am going to get sick…_

I realized I wasn't listening to what the old vampire was saying.

"…has agreed to serve the greater good of vampire-kind."

Who was he talking about? Jayden? Just then a cloaked figure drifted up to where the old vamp was standing, revealing Lily's face as she let the hood slip down. Whispers echoed around the chamber. Lily lifted her hand which showed a symbol on the back of her hand. It looked like some sort of black ink tattoo.

"Behold! The mark foretold in prophecy!" he exclaimed and more whispers and general sounds of approval sounded around the room.

_There must be a way to end this nightmare! Think Holly, think!_

My hand was now burning like I had a lighter pressed to it and I struggled not to scream out. I looked down and saw the same weird symbol was on the back of my hand, but mine was glowing. At the same time the ring around my finger with the red gem set in it had turned visible. _Oh my gosh…what was this supposed to mean? I don't know what to do! No one told me what I was supposed to do? Where was dad?_

I realized I was freaking out. Who can blame me? Something bad is about to happen Lily, my best friend besides Jessica, a mental vampire is about to somehow change the world and Jayden…whom I've had a crush on since the first day I saw him turned out to be a traitor… If that's not reason enough, sue me!

I quickly stuck my hand in my jean pocket to prevent others from seeing it. There was no guarantee that the invisibility potion was masking that too and I wasn't sure for how long it would work. The old vampire, whom I assumed was the lord Magnus everyone spoke of, handed Lily a ceremonial dagger. It had gems and symbols engraved on it. She was instructed to cut her hand and then take, which I only now noticed on the altar, the stake that was lying on it. _That must be the stake of truth! Funny how it just looks like an ordinary piece of wood, no gold, no gems. Don't tell me she is supposed to stake herself with it or something!_

Lily slowly took the dagger. It looked like she was in a trance. Did the vampire lord enchant her? I moved closer. There was no way I was about to let my friend kill herself because a deranged vampire told her to. I felt nauseous as the smell of blood struck my nose, even though it was just a small cut Lily had made on her hand. I also noticed that the chamber now seemed very bright to me, where before it was quite dark. And I could swear I heard Lily whisper: "forgive me"

I was about to dash into a suicidal attempt to save Lily when someone took hold of my shoulder.

"Holly, get out of here while you can." It was Leto, wearing a cloak to disguise him. Shucks…it must mean the invisibility potion has worn off.

"No, not without my dad and not without Lily."

"Your father knows what he is doing, he'll be fine. They let him go as part of the bargain. You cannot let them get hold of you. You are our only hope."

"What bargain?"

Dad didn't say anything about a bargain…Leto must not know that he had escaped here with me…

"There is no time…"

Leto was pulling me towards the doorway, but I pulled my arm free.

"I am not leaving."

"Holly, look at me. It is too late."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – The end of everything

Just then I saw Lily take the stake. Her eyes were closed, her face serene, like I had seen in my dream…then she fell, her body turning to ash. For a moment it was dead silent. The old vampire looked surprised, he clearly did not expect this to happen.

"You!" he said, pointing to Jayden and Sarah, "you deceived us! Betrayed your brethren! Kill them!"

Just then chaos broke loose. Vampires were shouting and seemingly flying all over the place. The walls were now caving in! Leto pushed me out of the way of a falling pillar. At first I thought it was an earthquake, but then saw huge hairy things emerge from the dust and rubble. The werewolves! It was a terrifying sight. Vampires were still yelling and screaming and running at the same time. Then I noticed Luna. She was leading the attack, barking (excuse the pun) out orders.

I crawled to where Lily had been standing just a few moments before. The stake was lying on the floor. I searched for the ceremonial dagger. _Damn, even my swiss knife would have been handy now!_

The next moment I felt a blade sink into my back. I looked around to see the old vampire lord before he got tackled by Jayden and Leto. I fell down to my knees, stake still in my hand with the burning symbol on it. My mind was getting clouded. I could not think clearly anymore. Some of my blood had dripped onto the floor. Blood… I pressed my hand with the stake against my chest…

I woke up in the same cold stone room I have seen several times before in my dream or visions. I followed the corridor until I got to the pedestal. A body was lying on it. I knew even before I looked at the face that it would be Lily's. Tears streaked my cheeks as I looked at my best friend's serene face.

"You can choose," a voice whispered to me, but I couldn't see anyone.

"The choice is yours," another voice echoed.

I searched in the direction of where the voice came from, but still couldn't see anyone.

"You must answer…" one voice whispered.

Another continued: "…a truthful answer…"

"What is the question?" I asked.

There was silence for a while and mist was swirling around me. Then suddenly three beings were standing in front of me. One human, one werewolf and one vampire. They were beautiful. It was difficult to distinguish colors as we were standing in a torch-lit room, but their features were perfect and unusual at the same time. Their eyes luminous. The human spoke.

"Do you believe that you are special?"

What am I supposed to answer? Yes? No? Maybe? I was able to use the stake and come to this place, therefore I should be special in some way right? My mind was racing. I took a deep breath.

Do I believe I am special? I noticed things had changed about me, the way I could fight and run but I never felt like I was special, and still don't.

"No," I finally answered holding my breath.

"Are you sure of your answer?" the vampire asked. I felt like someone about to hear they answered the question wrong on who wants to be a millionaire…

"I am sure."

"Truthfully answered," the werewolf spoke, "what you are and what you believe may not always be the same."

"You may ask your request," the human said.

"I ask…"

"Think before you speak," the vampire cautioned, "you could acquire all the knowledge of the world…things no one has ever known, if you wished…"

"You can change the course of the future, or undo great tragedies that took place in the past," the werewolf added.

"Or eternal life, as yours are currently dwindling away as we speak," the human continued.

"I know what I'd like to ask," I replied.

"I ask that Lily's life be restored to her. She sacrificed herself to protect me and those I love. I do not feel it is fair that she pay the price."

"Are you sure that is what you want?" the werewolf asked," would you not like to rather know the truth about your companion? The one you care much about?" The question stung. I did not know which side Jayden truly belonged to. If he was a traitor, I'd have to learn to let go…

"The marked one is only ever granted one request," the vampire added.

"And this does not happen often," the human said.

"I…stand by what I asked."

"Very well…"

It was difficult to tell what was real and what not. From the moment I had made my decision, the stone room I had been standing in dissolved into blackness, even the floor. I felt like I was falling, but I still could not see anything. Then I felt my neck being pierced. _Did someone cut me? Hello, I am already supposedly dead according to the three dudes in robes._ My whole body felt calmer, soothed, paralyzed. Then I felt something wet in my mouth. I tried but couldn't cough it out – was I drowning? I barely managed to swallow. After a while, which felt very long to me, another feeling spread slowly through my body. It started off as a warm tingly sensation, but then turned to fever. Parts of my life started flashing by me – _gosh, is this how it feels to die? _Soon it changed into a nightmare, where scary creatures were coming after me. The world was in flames. I wanted to run, but could not get anywhere. I screamed. Then mercifully blacked out.

_Am I still dreaming or hallucinating? _I was lying in bed, my old bed at mom's house. The familiar pictures on the wall of Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morrisette, Kelly Clarkson and others singers I loved listening to peered down at me from my lilac colored walls. The glow in the dark stars was still on the ceiling. Looks like mom kept it the way it was when I left. I could faintly smell dog shampoo. I could hear night sounds outside my window. It was so loud, it actually sounded like an insect orchestra was going on under my bed, rather than outside. At least it stopped raining. There was not a muscle in my body that was not sore. It hurt to even turn my head. Lily was sitting next to me in a chair mom must have brought in for her, sleeping. I smiled. They kept their promise.

"Isn't it a waste to sleep the night away?" I asked her. My voice sounded different too. Smooth, beautiful, dangerous. And a slight lisp that all vampires have – comes with the teeth.

Lily's eyes flew open instantly.

"Holly!" She was with me on the bed in a blink of an eye, squeezing the life or er…unlife out of me.

"What happened while I was having time out?"

"You mean while you were dying? Well…"

Lily told me that Luna and the other werewolves had all but destroyed the mansion. The vampire Lord Magnus was gone. Jayden had torn him apart. It sounded quite gruesome, so I was actually happy I didn't see it. He and Sarah were not traitors like I had thought. She also told me that she tried to protect me by sending me false letters, hoping to keep me away from the mansion. She revealed that she was a negotiator, _my_ negotiator actually. She did not know this right from when we met. She only later received visions confirming that I am an executor, but she felt I was not ready. Unfortunately the stake of truth had disappeared. Leto said that he had seen someone who looked very much like Blade while the fighting was going on and Brian had disappeared.

This meant that there was still work to be done, the stake of truth would have to be recovered to prevent this kind of thing from happening again. As I had been the marked one and used my request to save Lily, another would in time come. We would have to find him or her before whoever had the stake does. Or get the stake, whichever first. It could be a while. Perhaps years. Years… I am a vampire now, am I not?

"What happened to me?" I asked, touching where my neck had been pierced. The skin was smooth and healed. A cough attracted my attention to Jayden standing in the doorway.

"I think he'll answer that for you," Lily said standing up," I'll be with your mom in the kitchen."

"Holly," he said softly, sitting down on the bed next to me. I was just about to shout at him because he had me thinking he betrayed us when his lips met mine, sending my head in a spin. He had pulled me against him and continued kissing my neck, then rested his head on my shoulder while still holding me.

"I thought I had lost you," he whispered, "I could not think of anything else so I…changed you. Sorry…"

His apology had me a bit confused.

"Why are you saying sorry? You saved my... er…me. I should be thanking you!"

That meant the liquid I was drowning from wasn't water…

He looked up at me.

"You do not know, do you? When a vampire bites someone, whether to feed, for pleasure or to change, it allows the vampire glimpses into the victim's mind and emotions. I apologize because I had invaded your privacy."

"Oh my gosh... I panicked as I thought about what Jayden might have sensed in my thoughts. Well, at the time I was angry at him, and heartbroken, because I thought he'd betrayed us. I wonder if they see random thoughts or only your 'last minute' ones? Would he have seen what I had thought of him at other times? When I had hoped he'd kiss me the way he did just now? The times I checked him out while he was training with other students on the schoolgrounds or when I sneaked peeks when he changed his shirt after our training sessions? (Rock-hard abs is definitely not something to miss girls!) What about when I thought of what it would be like to make love to him? My face was burning from embarrassment.

"Oh, looks like I missed something, perhaps I should?" he said with a teasing smile on his face leaning forward towards my neck. _Shew, what a relief! Does not look like he knows of all that…_

"No!" I said laughing while launching my pillow at him. He laughed too, blocking it. Some feathers slowly drifted to the floor. We were just looking at each other, smiling like idiots.

"Your mom said she has breakfast ready for you in the kitchen. Your dad and Leto are also quite anxious to see you."

Lily broke the moment of silence.

"…when you are ready," she said looking at the feathers and Jayden holding my pillow. Jayden got up, straightening his clothes a bit.

"We'll give you some time to get yourself ready," he said before following Lily to the lounge. In the doorway he stopped, looking back over his shoulder.

"By the way, so you think I have great abs, do you?"

_Oh my…I am going to dig a hole and hide in it…_

"Get out, you!" I yelled, throwing my already abused pillow at him. It bounced off my now closed door.

Dear diary…

So here I am, Holly Monforte, a creature of the night. Fledgling to Mr oh-so-dreamy Jayden Cortez. (Jayden Cortez people!) My best friend (in vampire-kind) is still alive. I was relieved to learn that my other best friend, Jessica, was fine as well. My father was still in one piece and I survived mom's wedding. Well, perhaps I can elaborate on what had happened …

After the horrifying experience of dying, and then waking up in my old bed at mom's, things happened quite fast. Lily did some explaining, then Jayden did some explaining, and later when dad and Leto had left and Lily 'turned in' for the day, and mom and Paul left for work Jayden did some more 'explaining'... Sorry to be disappointing you, dairy, but we didn't go all the way. That would be kind of gross, don't you think? In my childhood bed, in my mother's house, and with Lily around, who has perfect hearing? _Not_ how I want my first time to be. It was still delicious, though! (:

I had my first breakfast that did not consist of cereal or even bacon and eggs with toast. Where the smell of blood had my stomach turning before, I could somehow handle it now. I guess it's like eating vegetables, you don't like it but you know it is good for you so you eat it and get it over with.

Dad and Leto left that night to prevent too many questions asked by Paul and others. How do you explain a big group of people suddenly crashing in mom's lounge? Besides, dad was eager to get home and get things sorted out, including getting the werewolf claw-marks off the pillars and walls. And I think it was awkward for him to be around mom with Paul in the picture…

Lily and Jayden stayed with me. Paul doesn't know about vampires, nor does Jessica. We came up with the story that we were just doing some traveling since it was school holidays for us and that I fell ill, and since we were near Silverfalls anyway we came here to get a connecting flight home.

Jessica came to say goodbye the next morning and probably wondered why we kept the curtains closed. I said that I was suffering from a terrible migraine, and that I could not stand the light to prevent her from saying: "my, but it is dark and stuffy in here, don't you think?" and whipping open the curtains and sending us all up in flames.

Back home (meaning home with dad) things returned to normal, well as normal as it can be for us. Very few vampires and werewolves knew or thought they knew what had happened at Silverfalls. Lily, Jayden and I did not even get detention or anything for just skipping school for almost three weeks – cool hey?

In this school vamps and werewolves come and go all the time – it is not like conventional school. If you leave, it just takes longer to finish and 'graduate' when you come back. Dad said that it would soon be compulsory for all vampires and werewolves to attend this school at least once through to graduation every two hundred years. This school is meant to teach survival and tolerance, especially between vampires and werewolves, and in the future humans. The 'curriculum' is constantly changing and adapting to new threats and challenges that need to be addressed.

Luna and the others took longer before they came back. They first had to break their addiction to substance D, which I heard was not easy and painless at all. What had happened at Silverfalls made me see them in a different light now. If it weren't for them, perhaps the world would now be ruled by the crazed Lord Magnum or whatever his name was. She came over to me one morning when putting stuff in my locker. She casually leaned against the locker next to mine and said: "Hey." I wasn't sure what to make of it so I said "hey" back. She then gave me something wrapped in cloth.

"I just want to return this to you and say thanks." It was my swiss knife. She turned and walked away, but then stopped to look at me over her shoulder.

"Don't think this suddenly makes us best friends or anything."

"Got ya," I replied, still surprised she spoke to me at all.

Luna smiled slightly before disappearing down the next corridor.

Jayden had moved into the old house outside town again and had it repaired. Dad didn't want to hear anything of me moving in with Jayden until after I graduate, fledgling or not, just so things look normal from a human perspective. I am only seventeen after all, well almost eighteen now… Especially given my ties with mom, Paul, Jessica and other humans. And mom still wants the whole wedding thing for us too…gulp!

Speaking of weddings, mom and Paul got married in October as planned, and I was her maid of honor. To accommodate me and Jayden she made sure it was an evening wedding. Dad did not attend, but sent them a gift – an all expenses paid for trip to Mauritius. Jayden looked SO hot in a tux. Some people asked him about his hair and were quite surprised when he said he did not color it. He-he… Luckily we weren't forced to eat anything. Jayden brought some 'wine' with for us to drink. Yes, I am a real bloodsucker now, and no I still don't like it, but hey- what am I to do? You can't exactly ask a lion to go on a veggie-only diet. But don't worry, it is not like I'm about to grab some random human on the street and chew his neck. I still have a lot to learn and Lily and Jayden are helping me.

I still keep in touch with Jessica. We email each other regularly. She is now dating a new guy who moved to Silverfalls about a year ago. He is into science and stuff like Lily. Oh well, as long as she's happy. And as long as it's not that jerk, William. Maybe I should go and give him a good scare sometime? Tempting…

Well, I have to get going now. Jayden is coming to pick me up for A DATE! I am quite nervous as this will be our first formal _date!_ I decided to wear the little blue number Mom got me as a Christmas present. It really shows off my curves, and a lot of leg too. And it goes well with the necklace Jayden had given me as a late 17th birthday present, which has a small blue stone hanging from the delicate chain. Mom must have noticed that I've been wearing it ever since. Perhaps tonight will be _the night_? The thought of it makes me tingle all over. I've been wanting to since that time he kissed me in my old room at mom's, but there have just been so much going on with school and dad had him busy with other things as well. I've had a lot to do too, besides catching up what I've missed in school. I also want to try biting him if he'll let me, see if it is all they say it is… the thought of learning what he thought made me giddy with excitement.

My vampire intuition tells me I'm not going to be a virgin by my eighteenth birthday…


End file.
